The “C” Word
Lessons From The Roller Coaster
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Michael Jenet
Storytelling 101: Set the stage. Introduce the Characters. Insert some strife or challenge. Overcome the Challenge and spend the rest of the story on the life lessons learned and how you, the reader, can benefit.
Great, good stuff.
It occurred to me recently, however, as I embarked as an unwilling passenger on a roller coaster of a ride, that the journey itself is often glossed over in these stories. Moreover, that Journey, the hard part in the middle, is just as important as the ending.
And so, as my wife and I embarked on this latest journey (which she so eloquently explains in her Blog Post) I decided to capture the Journey itself, at least from my point of view.
WARNING:This is raw and emotional stuff. There’s foul language, and I didn’t edit any of it. I wrote this in the moment(s) as they happened. Sometimes right away, sometimes at the end of the day, but always in the moment so be forewarned; it’s not eloquent or pretty, it’s raw.
I’m not really sure why I’m writing this. This really isn’t about me anyway, though it kind of is. Maybe I wrote because I had no one to really talk to about this and it was cathartic. Maybe putting this story out there will help people like those who asked how I was doing or if there was anything they could do if for no other reason than they’ll understand what it’s like to go through this when you’re in the passenger seat of this ride.
Let me make one thing clear. People who get diagnosed with Cancer are heroes. They are the tough ones who are literally fighting for their lives against something they didn’t ask for. This in no way diminishes the amazingly difficult journey they must go through.
What this is, is another journey. The journey of those who must go along for the ride because the person who has Cancer is someone they love.
It’s a short story of sorts, so I broke it out into 8 chapters (most of them short) rather than one long blog post to make it easier to read.
My wife often introduces me as her “spousal unit”.
This, was my journey.
[su_button url=”http://journeyinstitute.org/blog/the-call/” background=”#ffffff” color=”#000000″ size=”5″ icon_color=”#ffffff” text_shadow=”0px 0px 0px #000000″]Chapter I – The Call >>[/su_button]