I met my best friend, John, in August 2004.
We’re not exactly your traditional couple. We’re not married, we don’t have kids, and while I bring home the bacon, John usually cooks it. But for nearly 22 years, we’ve been a package deal. Our friends don’t really think of us separately. We’re just John and Wendy.
We do almost everything together. We laugh a lot, entertain a lot, and genuinely enjoy each other’s company. It’s always been us.
Fast-forward to July 2026. We were planning a trip to San Francisco to celebrate my 50th birthday when life turned on a dime. On July 10, John had a stroke.
And just like that, everything changed.
Why One Apple a Day?
John’s stroke left him with aphasia and apraxia of speech. He knows what he wants to say, but getting the words from his brain to his mouth is another story. Recovery means starting with sounds, building syllables, practicing words, and doing it all over again.
One of the first words John mastered was apple.
The funny thing is, now everything is an apple. Dinner? Apple. The dogs? Apple. Whatever he’s desperately trying to tell me? You guessed it. Apple.
So here we are, taking life one day, one sound, one word, and one apple at a time.
What you’ll find here
This blog is our story, starting July 10, 2026. The good days, the bad days, the ridiculous moments, and everything in between.
I’ll write about John’s recovery, our adventures, our dogs, his cooking and gardening, my art projects, and quite possibly more than anyone wants to know about my Christmas Village.
Mostly, it’s a way to keep our family and friends close, share John’s progress, and maybe help another person navigating this strange new world feel a little less alone.
Thanks for being here.
Wendy (and John, who probably has something to say about all this).
So, what happened next?
Well, quite a lot, actually.
