A treat for me can be something as simple as a trip to the store without my partner. It may be a stolen moment with a special chocolate or making my own favorite dish for dinner. I sometimes go outside to “check the garden” just to get a fresh breath and have a minute of my own.

As the disease progresses and my husband’s needs grow, it is becoming almost essential to build these treats into my schedule. There are the big ones, the monthly meetings with my PD partner’s support group and our exercise programs. Those connections help give me strength to continue the daily struggles, and remind me that others are on this journey with me, I am not alone. That is a treat in itself.

What I really need sometimes is an opportunity to escape the PD world entirely. So, in addition to my PD supports, I work to maintain a group of friends who know me for other reasons. We stay in touch and try to do lunch every couple of months. We laugh, we share food, and we don’t talk about PD, it is a wonderful break from the everyday challenges.