Life can get tedious for both you and your person with Parkinson’s disease. Day in, day out we exercise, take meds, read, rest, nothing seems to change. It can feel like we’re a gerbils caught in a wheel thanks to the requirements of his PD diagnosis. How do we make it stop?

I find the best solution is to take a day and throw our schedule to the wind. Meds and meals will need to happen but they can be at a restaurant we like or even on a picnic. Exercise can turn into walks in the wilderness and naps can be on a drive somewhere nice. Life can continue outside our home and it can give us both a needed break from PD.

When we have the opportunity, we try to plan bigger breaks, a weekend away can work wonders for our moods and reminds us of past times when things were not so intense. We were able to sneak away earlier this year for a trip to the beach. It seemed that the universe was smiling on us because the day we arrived was rainy but the one full day we had there was beautiful. We walked on the beach, had some wonderful meals out and came back seriously refreshed and ready to face life again.