Wedding bells for my brother, Drew!

Tomorrow we're off to New York again; this time for my "little" brother Drew's wedding on the 29th of August. His fiance, Debra, is an absolute peach! Here's a picture of the happy couple:


I'm so excited; this is going to be great!! Every now and then, you see a couple who are just perfect for each other, and you know that there is something special about them. Drew and Debra are like that. They are both so warm-hearted, so funny, so smart, so talented!

The wedding itself is going to be beautiful, at sunset with the Manhattan skyline in the background. I'm going to be a bridesmaid, and Bob and Rusty are both groomsmen. I told Debra she didn't have to feel obligated to include me, but she insisted. It's going to be so much fun, but soooo tiring, too. It's going to be a challenge, I know, especially since the wedding is in the evening, and I'll be off my meds, but I'm determined to do everything I need to do and have fun as well! Bob and I will even get a chance to show off our new dance moves, I hope. Then there's all the relatives who will be in town, many of whom I haven't seen since I was a child. Got a lot of socializing to do, that's for sure.

So today, instead of just packing and resting up, we're also cleaning the house because Bob's mother and sister are coming to our house for a few days after the wedding. On top of that, there's a 49ers pre-season game this afternoon, and there's no way we can miss that. Tomorrow, we get up at 4:00 a.m. in order to get to our flight on time. Wheeeee!!! We're going to be BEAT!

I sure hope I can handle all this...

Fun vs. exhaustion

There is a new paradigm in my life. Wait; I hate the word "paradigm"!! O.k.; I have a new way of looking at things. I used to think "I'm exhausted; I can't go to (name of event)". Now, I think "I'm going to be exhausted anyway, so I might as well have fun in the meanwhile". It seems like a small shift in attitude, but it actually adds up to a major shift. What it means is that I don't expect to feel perfect; I don't expect to feel "well". I just expect to feel well enough to do whatever the activity in question is.

Case in point: yesterday, my husband and I our son and our son's girlfriend went up to San Francisco to celebrate my brother's birthday. We went to the King Tut exhibit at the new DeYoung museum. Lots of walking, and the exhibit was very crowded and very dimly lit. All conditions that are difficult for me. Well, guess what? I had a great time anyway! The exhibit was breath-takingly beautiful, and it was great spending time with my brother and his wife. I've missed them so much! My sister-in-law, KC has a lot of health problems, and so we don't get to see them very much, even though they only live about an hour away.

I actually like the feeling of pushing my body towards its limit of endurance; it feels good to push the envelope. I just have to be a little careful, otherwise I pay for it. Recently, I've been having some "freezing" problems, and it gets worse as I get more tired. I've fallen a couple of times, and it's a very frightening thing. It's like a nightmare; I trip over something, and I can't recover. It feels like I'm wrapped up in a blanket or something; I can't stop myself from falling. So, I have to learn to avoid that, but still do what I want to do.

YOU DON'T OWN ME, PARKINSON'S!! I'M GOING TO HAVE FUN ANYWAY!!!!