New normal

I had a couple big "Esteem moments" tonight. I was so fortunate to go to dinner with some very dear friends. We all used to work together and formed a remarkable bond but we don't see each other very often now. I hadn't seen any of them since activation. They're all used to me being deaf and having to repeat stuff. Twice during dinner, someone said something quiet and another person immediately started to repeat it for me automatically. But I didn't need it repeated because I'd heard it...both times. It's funny because hearing is normal for me now. I'm used to the effortless conversations in restaurants and not stressing over every sound in every word. I forget that it is really new and exciting until I'm with someone who isn't used to my "new normal." I absolutely love it, though. I get to relive the excitement over and over! :) The other big moment is that the battery in my Personal Programmer (remote) finally died! At activation, I was told the batteries would last about a month, maybe two if I didn't use the remote a lot. It's been 3 1/2 months. It may not seem like a big deal, but it IS because it means that I don't have to use the remote very often. In fact, I only noticed that the battery light was on because I was showing my friends how the remote works. My goal with the Esteem was to eventually get to the point where I didn't need the remote every day. I honestly can't remember the last time I used it. It's incredible to just be able to hear all the time without messing with hearing aids or batteries or even remotes. "Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!"