When life let’s you down, how do you bounce back? This right now is my life, the worst thing happened to me last year, I lost my dad to Pancreatic cancer.  After losing someone so special how do you pick yourself up and carry on?

Needing to focus on my writing, I’m not getting very far.  It’s amazing how priorities blur when the hardest things in life happen. Many times a day I cry for my dad, he’s not going to answer me, but I hope he can hear me.  I believe he is with me but I’d really love a proper two-way conversation which I know won’t happen in this life.

There are things I need to achieve this year, quite a few of them my dad would have helped me with. Getting myself in the right place to do them is now added to the challenge of 2021.  A year ago, I was worrying about COVID, that worry is nothing in comparison to the pain of now.

Fundraising

We cannot bring dad back but we can help raise awareness of this terrible illness.  Dad was gone within 12 weeks of diagnosis and he suffered greatly.  My family (myself, my children, two sisters and their children) are now walking in dad’s honour, raising awareness and raising money for research into this awful disease.  I’ve read that only two percent of the cancer research budget goes to Pancreatic Cancer.  Money donated to Pancreatic Cancer UK goes directly into research into pancreatic cancer.  Knowledge of it hasn’t changed for the last forty years hence many people are diagnosed at stage 4 and too late.  The average survival rate once diagnosed, I’ve read is about three months without chemotherapy.  Dad like many was too weak for chemo and his passing was hard.

Here is the link to my Just giving page, if you would like to donate, any size donation would be gratefully received.

Today on day 46, I’ve walked about 255 miles, my children (age 7 and 9) have walked about 117 miles.  They are aiming to walk 200 miles in 100 days and are halfway there.

We have set up a Facebook page – Walking for Grandad following our fundraising efforts and to raise awareness of this awful disease.  if you are interested please do follow along and help support our efforts.

Facebook live

Here is my Facebook live video from 5th March

My writing

Next month my western story will be published in an Anthology.  I read it to my dad a few hours before he died.  I left out some of the shooting as awkward to read to a dying man, but once I finished it, he moaned a little.  He was attached to a syringe driver but I’m sure he heard it, I just hope that he liked it.

I’m now needing to start work on a fantasy story.  I’ve never written a fantasy before. There is also a competition I would like to enter. With commitments to work, to my children and now walking I’m often too tired to read and write.

Sometime this year I want to get back to my novel but I need to focus on it properly. It needs a full redraft so despite being about 75000 words there is many hours of work left to do.

2021

With all the stress around 2020 and all the pain,  I’m focusing on my family and the future. We started walking on February 13^th, we’ve already covered a huge distance, keeping up the momentum is the next challenge.  I would love to get to 500 miles in 100 days but the long distances I’m walking take me away from my family and my writing.  It’s good therapy, I listen to music and take in the open country around me.  It gives me something to aim for, but staying motivated is going to be hard.  Walking seven to eleven miles alone is obviously quicker and easier then walking with a 7 and 9 year old. The furthest they have walked so far is 8 miles, so they really are doing well.

I’m hoping 2021 is more positive then 2020, it really has been a rotten, tough year.

So, how is life with you? And how are your writing plans going?

For more see, Loss of my lovely dad and my writing