Last Saturday, my husband and I attended a reunion. A very special reunion. Attendees came from all walks of life and were of various ages. All were there to celebrate a special anniversary. For some, it was one year, others five-ten years, and still some celebrated twenty-plus years. Confused yet?
In October 1993, my husband underwent a bone marrow transplant at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. He’s a two-time cancer survivor who has now been cancer free for twenty-five years.
Each year, the Baylor transplant program holds a reunion for survivors. For various reasons, we had been unable to attend since 1994, but with this being a milestone year, we made a point to make it. Needless to say, being back in the place where John spent twenty-four days in the hospital brought back lots of memories. We recalled the first day when he went for a consult. We felt an immediate connection to his care team – they treated us like people, not like a number in the system. One of the survivors who spoke said the same thing – he felt like family.
The theme for this year’s reunion was “The Circle of Life.” Entertainment was based on The Lion King, including a fantastic rendition of Elton John’s “Circle of Life.” We had a great time and feel blessed to have attended the event.
I also took a few days vacation this week, or as I like to call it a “staycation.” Making slow progress with Unclear Purposes. I also redesigned my website and blog. I think the new theme fits much better for mystery and suspense.
In the upcoming weeks, I’ll have the cover reveal for Unclear Puposes. But for now, it’s time for this week’s links:
From Story Empire:
- Out of Order – Joan Hall
- Creative Grammar – Harmony Kent
- Friday Group Post: Questing Beasts – Story Empire Authors
From Other Writing Sites:
- An Easy Tip for Developing Story Ideas – Fiction University
- 3 Struggles Only Writers Understand – A Writer’s Path
- Malware and Viruses: The Price to Pay for Free pdf Books? – Just Publishing
- Stuck With Your Story? Walls and Dead Ends in Writing – A Writer’s Path
- Hacking: It Isn’t Just for Thrillers Anymore – Writer’s in The Storm
- Hey Indie Authors, Create Space is Closing – Fiction University
- Publishing Companies to Avoid and Nasty New Author Scams – Just Publishing
- Does Your Story Have a Firm Foundation? – The Kill Zone
- Three Ways to Tell if a Manuscript is Worth Going Back To – Fiction University
- Killing Sacred Cows – The Kill Zone
- The Benefits of Co-Writing – A Writer’s Path
- 5 Best Free WordPress Plugins to Boost Traffic – Just Publishing
- Create Space Merges with KDP – Nicholas C. Rossis
16 Responses
What an amazing reunion to be able to attend especially for 25 years:)
It was an experience. We are thankful to have reached this milestone! have a great weekend!
The reunion sounds awesome and such an achievement. Slow progress is still progress. Can’t wait to see the new cover! Love the blog redesign. have a lovely weekend, Joan 🙂
We are both happy to have been able to attend. Brought back lots of memories. As far as the book, hoping progress speeds up now. I had a difficult time with chapter twelve. Thirteen is my lucky number moving forward!
Wow, what a great idea! It must have been quite the emotional experience for the both of you.
It was emotional, Nicholas. But good emotions. Of course, the writer in me started to think about how things have changed in twenty-five years, and how something could be developed into a story. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!
Thanks! You too 🙂
So glad you and John made this year’s event. Even happier that he is 25 years cancer free.
Love the new look of your site. And that you’re making headway on the novel. Happy weekend!
Thanks, Staci. Slow but sure progress. John and I consider ourselves extremely blessed! Have a wonderful weekend.
Joan, I’m sure that was emotional reunion for you and John. What a blessing in your lives that he is cancer free. Twenty-five years is indeed a milestone, that I’m sure also inspired many others at the event.
I love the new look of your blog/website and am looking forward to the cover reveal for Unclear Purposes. When you’re ready, I would love to host you!
Mae, it was emotional. I had tears (of joy) come to my eyes quite a few times. Glad you like the new year and thanks for the offer to host. I’ll be taking you up on it. 🙂
I never knew there were reunions like this. What a wonderful thing to do. The blog looks nice, by the way.
Don’t know about other hospitals, but Baylor has reunions for all their transplant recipients. Used to be combined (heart, lung, liver, bone marrow, etc.) but this one has separated into a single event. It’s pretty special. Glad you like the new blog look!
Reblogged this on Nicholas C. Rossis and commented:
Joan’s writing links of the week
Thanks for sharing, Nicholas!
🙂