Merge pull request #31 from jsr6720/post-journaling

Post journaling

_drafts/YYYY-MM-DD-title.md

@@ -13,14 +13,14 @@ Content
 
 ---
 
-##### Author's Note
+## Author's Note
 
 
 
-##### Significant revisions
+## Significant revisions
 
 tags: {{ page.tags | join: ", " }} <!-- todo move this somewhere -->
 
 - {{ page.date | date_to_string: "ordinal", "US" }} Originally published on [{{ site.url }}]({{ site.url }}) with uid {{ page.uid }}
 
-##### EOF/Footnotes
+## EOF/Footnotes

_posts/2024-06-19-tree-rings-and-the-invisible-scars-of-life.md

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+---
+layout: post
+author: James Rowe
+title:  "Tree Rings and the Invisible Scars of Life"
+date: "2024-06-19 11:30:21 -0400"
+tags: 2024 cancer personal
+uid: 4F750A7F-4294-4BBE-9C9E-341BB0DEDCAB
+---
+
+## Slice of life
+
+At my local library[^1] is a tree slab on display. You’ve seen them before. A cross-section of a local felled tree two or three hundred years old. The passage of time marked by growth rings; the stressful years hidden, invisible until the very end.[^2].
+
+<img src="/assets/posts-images/tree.png" alt="tree slab" class="center-img img-stylish"/>
+
+I took this picture around four months after my most recent discharge from the hospital[^3]. At the time, I did not know if my treatment was effective—if I had achieved remission (I had)—but as I stared at the tree, I felt a connection. A metaphor for my current state. This tree was once living, breathing, standing tall all while carrying the scars of challenging times within.
+
+## The Scar I Carry
+
+My cancer and subsequent treatments have left invisible scars on my life as well[^4]. Many of my physical symptoms have subsided. My appearance has been restored with another year of growth. But on the inside—after a brief moment of exposure—are all the signs of distress and turmoil.
+
+During my chemo treatment, my nails developed a “fracture point”: a scar marking when all my cells turned over, most pronounced on my thumbs. Here I compare notes with the tree. This scar here—what did you see? Was it hard? What lessons did you learn?
+
+If you can move forward, so can I.
+
+<img src="/assets/posts-images/finger.png" alt="tree slab with thumb" class="center-img img-stylish"/>
+
+---
+
+## Author's Note
+
+Originally, I hadn’t intended to publish anything online about my cancer, but I was inspired by [https://xkcd.com/1141/](https://xkcd.com/1141/) to share parts of my survivor’s journey. Besides, I think about cancer a lot, and this site is called “James’s Thoughts”...
+
+As of June 2024, I’m alive and well; check out [https://status.jsrowe.com](https://status.jsrowe.com) to see what I’m up to.
+
+## Significant revisions
+
+tags: {{ page.tags | join: ", " }} <!-- todo move this somewhere -->
+
+- {{ page.date | date_to_string: "ordinal", "US" }} Originally published on [{{ site.url }}]({{ site.url }}) with uid {{ page.uid }}
+- {{ "2024-06-13" | date_to_string: "ordinal", "US" }} Came back to this placeholder and completed draft
+- {{ "2024-05-13" | date_to_string: "ordinal", "US" }} [commit](https://github.com/jsr6720/jsr6720.github.io/commit/ed65badbfaeb1af8b0976c4a7b1447eb5e9b8554) this draft idea for later
+
+## EOF/Footnotes
+
+[^1]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20200303190726/https://westsidenewsny.com/features/2020-03-02/tree-slab-display-provides-a-slice-of-our-history/](https://web.archive.org/web/20200303190726/https://westsidenewsny.com/features/2020-03-02/tree-slab-display-provides-a-slice-of-our-history/) 
+
+[^2]: [https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/tree-rings.htm](https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/tree-rings.htm)
+
+[^3]: I had originally written “my final discharge from the hospital.” I hope that it is.
+
+[^4]: Good Luck? Bad Luck? Who Knows? [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_old_man_lost_his_horse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_old_man_lost_his_horse)