Ooo, where ya’ goin’?

Ooo, where ya’ goin’?

Soon after my March 2023 Parkinson’s diagnosis started to sink in, my wife and I began meeting the unknown with humor. Trish has been blessed with an infectious sense of humor that invites those around her to join in with hearty laughter. I love this trait in her, and am always happy to laugh along.

One day while she and I were out shopping, she pushed the cart around the corner in a busy store. On this particular day, my role was simply to touch the cart and guide it, or perhaps have it guide me. As we rounded the corner, the cart corrected and continued on straight ahead. I, however, kept turning due to the momentum that I couldn’t seem to shake! Without missing a beat, Trish chuckled and asked in a humorously loving tone, “Ooo, where ya’ goin’?”

We laughed out loud right there in the store. Holding our sides, wiping our tears away, and trying to remain standing, we thoroughly enjoyed the moment of levity amidst an otherwise tense situation. We laughingly acknowledged the difficulty I would experience while simply trying to hold myself steady and retain my balance. “Ooo, where ya’ goin’?”

Since that day in the store, we have asked each other this question on several occasions. Whether she loses her footing or I fall into the wall walking down the hallway, we respond with this question and a laugh. The question has become a staple in our Parkinson’s lexicon, so much so that I am basing this entire 40-day writing project on it. After taking several months off to process the experience of my first 100 days of consecutive writing, I have decided to do it again!

Today is the beginning of my second writing project, Summer of Balance. As I’ve written before in this space, people with Parkinson’s (PWP) tend to experience difficulty with balance, both physical and emotional. For example, one of my first early symptoms was experiencing the feeling of disorientation while getting out of the car or standing in the shower. I was never dizzy, but rather I felt like I couldn’t trust my body to remain standing for any length of time. I noticed myself starting to sway ever so slightly, enough to elicit concern about falling. As I move forward in my relationship with Parkinson’s, it has become clear to me that standing is more difficult than moving. Even though I move in a clumsy, clunky manner, I am nonetheless able to self-correct and keep my balance. The potential problems seem to arise when standing in one spot, thus making showering or standing in line especially worrisome.

In addition to physical balance, I intend to address, and perhaps focus on, the idea of life balance with Parkinson’s. As I’ve written before, PWP need to be especially intentional with what we choose to do. Due to the condition, we have limited “on” time, or hours each day that we can function in a near-normal fashion. Just like anyone who experiences limitations of any kind, we need to prioritize our activities and condense them into the limited time span when we are feeling able to perform. Personally, I have struggled with this idea since I was, by nature, a person who said “yes” to everything. I’m afraid I have changed in this respect due to Parkinson’s. This change may or may not be a positive thing—I just need to keep it in balance.

So, here we are at the start of a 40-day adventure. During this time period, I look forward to writing every day in the same manner that I did during my first 100-day project. I will sit down at my computer consistently, with or without any pre-planned topics to consider. Writing will be somewhat extemporaneous and relatively unedited, so that my words give an accurate picture of that particular day’s slice of life. I trust that the themes will emerge without being forced, just as they did the first time around. The only overarching topic will be balance and its many facets, as related to a life with Parkinson’s Disease.

I’m feeling a little off today physically, so my writing is not flowing as usual. Perhaps this is a sign that I should wrap it up for today and return to this line of thinking tomorrow. I will leave you now, dear reader, with the hope that tomorrow will be a balanced day filled with all the good things you have decided to do. As we move forward each day, I encourage us to smile and consider the question: “Ooo, where ya’ goin’?”

Summer of Balance
Day 1; May 19, 2024
Success!