December 27, 2009 9:15 PM

No hugs!

That was the order of the day as my wife and I attended a 50th wedding anniversary party. It was the largest event that I have attended since I was diagnosed 14 months ago and, because I saw so many people that I have not seen for so long, it was extremely difficult to avoid all the hugs and kisses that my many wellwishers wished to extend - but we did do it.

It was great seeing all those people again but I felt bad that I did not have time to talk to all of them. So many stopped by the table to talk that I just could not devote my attention to all of them. I hope that they all understood.

But, selfishly for me, it was a fun time and recognition that I have now taken another step back to "normality". We have no more such parties on the immediate schedule which I suppose is a good thing as we still want to limit my exposure to possible infections.

However, my wife is planning a big coming out party of sorts on February 21st at our church - friends, family, acquaintances, fellow parishioners, etc. are all invited. I am gearing up for that to be my first day back. As such, a friend did give me fair warning to watch out for the hugs and kisses that flow on that day.

It was so nice to see that so many people were so genuinely interested in seeing how well I was doing. It is overwhelming to me because, as I said before, I'm just an average guy who happened to get a not-so-average disease and has been blessed every step of the way so that I can now begin to see that light at the end of the tunnel. I haven't done anything accept to receive so much from everyone else and am continuing to do so.

You have all been so wonderful to me.

I cannot thank you enough...

Bob