As another year comes to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on just how full 2025 has been. It was a year of movement, learning, connection, and more than a few moments that reminded us to slow down and appreciate where we are.

 

Travel was a big part of our year. We spent time in Chicago for the United States Association for the Study of Pain conference and in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the University of Michigan’s Extended Course on Chronic Pain. Both trips were deeply meaningful for my patient engagement work, and Marianne made the most of each city, reconnecting with friends and enjoying time away from home.

 

Let me interject a few other travel details: Besides Chicago & Ann Arbor, Tom spoke at a conference in San Diego while I had a three-day shoot for the commercial Bush’s Baked Beans here in LA.

Two days prior, I slipped into  Kansas City for my friend’s daughter’s amazing wedding.

My sister Jeanne joined me on an intensive NYC, upstate NY, and CT. I booked it as though I was still in my 30s instead of my 70s. Had to get back to join Tom on what was supposed to be a med conference in DC. Turned out the onsite was canceled and done over Zoom.

We did go to Austin for Tom’s work with an Acute Low Back Pain CDG group. I reconnected with an old friend who showed me the sites, including the LBJ Presidential Library, which turned out be one for the 4 such libraries I saw this year!

In May we drove to SF to see my niece Allie, son Oliver and her husband Kel Vin who was there for his on medical conference!

Let’s not forget our med conference in Portland, my side hop to Pendelton to visit the remarkable Mary G. Benson, then back to Portland.

Then I returned to Austin for the premiere of the movie I shot last year, which was great fun, red carpet, lots of interviews and finally seeing the end product, our excellent feature RHYTHM IS A DANCER. 

 

Five days later we embarked on the highlight of the year, our unforgettable journey to Egypt in November. Thirty-two days immersed in history, faith, and wonder was both exhilarating and challenging. Egypt was everything we hoped for and more. By the end of the trip, even Marianne, our resident travel-holic, finally said, “enough.” Still, it was an experience we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.

 

Professionally, the year was incredibly rewarding. I continued working with researchers across the country on patient engagement in clinical trials and guideline development, including interviews with patients at the University of California, San Francisco, to help improve how large language models reflect patient stories. I was honored to receive the Patient Engagement Hero Award at the University of Michigan conference and to be featured in the United States Pain Foundation’s November issue of The Invisible Project https://uspainfoundation.org/pain-research-participants/tom-norris/. I also had the privilege of being first author on published Guidelines for Patient Engagement, work that continues to shape how lived experience is included in research.

 

Through it all, Marianne remains the steady force behind everything I do, and we are deeply grateful for the friends, colleagues, and fellow advocates who continue to walk alongside us.

We hope this season brings you moments of peace, warmth, and connection. Thank you for being part of our lives and our story.

 

With love and gratitude,

 

Tom and Marianne

 

P.S. I need a nap!