The things you do for love!

Life is terribly short, so don't waste a moment sweating over the small stuff. Does it really matter if your husband continually leaves the toilet seat up? Do your children fill the sink with dirty dishes despite you telling them a hundred times to put them in the dishwasher? What about finding a trail of muddy paw prints the dog left after the floor has been washed? These are without doubt irritating but in the scope of things, they are really so unimportant. When you figure out what really matters in life, the small daily frustrations pale in significance and take a back seat.

I suspect it's no one's idea of a good time, getting up at 04:00 in the morning when everyone else is fast asleep. Living with Parkinson's is somewhat like being on a different time warp, and finding myself wide awake at the most inopportune hours. I try to be productive making the most of this time. It was on Valentine's Day last Friday, in the wee hours of the morning whilst my sweetheart was still asleep, and the sun was far from making its appearance, that I started to get busy with yeast baking. I made whole wheat bread rolls, and sweet cinnamon buns. Whilst these were proving and rising nicely in the warmth of our kitchen, I laid the breakfast table and made a typical "Full Monty" British breakfast; sausages, fried eggs, mushrooms, fried potatoes and baked beans (this is not a breakfast for those watching their calories!). My husband finally awoke to a wonderful, leisurely breakfast and together we spent a very lovely morning. Despite being unwell, I try my best to make every occasion special. Taking the time and effort to go that extra mile, to please your partner, making them feel special is very important, especially when your partner is your caregiver and takes care of you most of the time.  

By early afternoon, as you can imagine, I was exhausted. After all, I'd been up since 04:00 and busy in the kitchen, refusing to allow Parkinson's to interfere with my plans. I announced loudly that "Parkinson's had left the building"! as if saying it out loud would make it a reality. It's just a shame Parkinson's doesn't get the hint and stay away, for sadly after a few hours, even with the greatest of determination and resolve, I could only push it out the way for a period of time before fatigue took over.

I have dedicated this week's article in The Huffington Post to a dear friend who is going through a rough time. The body and spirit are undeniably connected, so by keeping up a fight and remaining positive is of the utmost importance when facing a serious health issue.

Enjoy your weekend and TTFN till next Friday. If you are unfamiliar with the British initials for a colloquial farewell, I'll put you out of your misery. It stands for: "ta ta for now" which became a popular informal goodbye used by the military during the Second World War.