Acceptance is tough. I didn’t want to accept that my husband had this diagnosis, so I insisted that we seek a second opinion. I still struggle daily with accepting the changes this diagnosis has brought to our lives, especially our social life. We are 14 years into this journey and have had to make many accommodations, no more late nights out, no more dancing, no more hikes or even walks along the river. Trips are limited as we find that this disease has built a framework that our days must fit within. But I have figured out that accepting doesn’t mean giving up or giving in, it just means being open to a different pathway with new challenges and new adventures.

Maybe we can’t have the dinner parties with friends that we once enjoyed, then we invite them to join us for lunch. It’s too cold to sit outside around our firepit like we used to, let’s plant flowers in it and sit beside it on sunny days instead of fall nights. Old friends may not know how to interact with our new reality so we begin to find new friends who understand because they face similar situations. We do what we can to maintain the old friendships because of the history they bring but we open our hearts to the new people because they represent our future.

Acceptance for me has meant that life is very different than I expected but that’s okay. I love my husband and I love our life, challenging as it may be. I know that he would have stood by me so I will do my part to stand by him. Things are going to get tougher and we, I will figure out how to make it work. It is tough but it’s worth doing so that we can move forward together on this journey Parkinson’s Disease has chosen for us.