I took a break from Saturday Synopsis last week to share the story of Shane's achievement of the Scholar rank within the Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts. But I'm back this week with another edition of the Saturday Synopsis: excerpts from posts published in September 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

"Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer."

— Ed Cunningham

"I've said to people before that I'm going to do my very best to make it. I'm not going to give up, and that's true. But I might not make it. And if I don't make it, the Marathon of Hope better continue. It's got to go without me. I'll do my best, but it's got to keep going without me if I can't make it."

— Terry Fox

Be kind. Speak gently. Rejoice in your blessings and the good fortune of others. Share your abundance. Respect others and expect them to return the courtesy. Believe in your choices and honour those of others. Value yourself and walk away from situations that don't support your self-worth.

"The reality is, you will grieve forever. You will never 'get over' the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole, but you will never be the same again. Nor should you be the same, nor should you want to."

— Elizabeth Kübler-Ross

If, as Audrey Hepburn said, "To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow" then perhaps to prepare for next year's garden is to remain hopeful that there will be many more days after tomorrow.

I experienced many changes after I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I stopped working very suddenly. I stopped going out while on chemotherapy because I was immunocompromised and a pandemic was raging. I stopped seeing my family regularly, especially during the colder months when a physically distanced visit on my deck was not possible. But I did do one thing in particular that helped decrease the negative impacts of the disease on my social connections: I started this blog. My cancer might have made me feel isolated, lonely and disconnected. Instead, my blog allowed me to connect and reconnect with hundreds of people. I felt remembered, seen, loved, valued, appreciated and cared for.

— Author unknown