I have a new allergy -- elevators. The session with my anxiety group turned out nicely even if it was somewhat humorous at my expense.  Last week we were given papers to fill out concerning different aspects of our recoveries.  Yesterday we were supposed to tell the other members how we had answered the questions. There were only four of us at the session.  I was the closest to the therapist, so she selected me to be the first one to answer almost every question.  At first I was little aggravated, but soon managed to turn this anger into humor. About halfway through the session the therapist got up and walked out of the room.  A few minutes later, she came back and our session resumed.  As we were finishing up for the day, she said they would have to walk down the three flights of stairs because the elevator had quit working.  I said the first thing that came into my mind, "Oh, God." I was told not to worry because they had called the fire department to get me down to the first floor.  I was then asked if I was going to "freak out" and I replied no.  My therapist looked at me as if she was not sure about that. The firefighters came and the area outside the elevator suddenly became very crowded.  Even the head of the clinic arrived.  Carrying a motorized wheelchair (with me in it) is not exactly easy as the firefighters soon found out.  After going down two steps, they decided that would not work.  Back up the steps we went. I was finally put into a regular chair and carried down the three flights of stairs.  The firefighters then went back upstairs and began tackling my wheelchair.  All of us on the first floor could hear them quite clearly as my chair went "boom, boom, boom” on every step.  I felt somewhat embarrassed, but it was not my fault to begin with. The head of the clinic could not have been more apologetic.  I had met her several times before and always had a good feeling about her. Today I am seeing my new psychologist whose offce is also on the third floor.  I hope this elevator works better.  She wants me to bring her list of my allergies.  Right at the top the first thing I have put is elevators.   A Daily Thought:   “The hardest challenge is to be yourself in a world where everyone is trying to make you be somebody else.” -- E. E. Cummings