It’s a different life for us these days as so many of our outside social activities have gone away. I blame the change on my husband’s mobility and communication issues, but the reality is that it is just too much effort for me. Being with a non-PD group is more difficult as I struggle to balance my caregiving duties with my desire to interact in the fun. Our last attempt was dinner with a small group of friends. We were in a beautiful backyard setting which sloped gently down to a riverbank. The unfamiliar and uneven terrain kept me on the lookout for fall risks and the seating left us struggling to be a part of the conversation. We stayed for a couple of hours, but it was exhausting for both of us.

We do have a “safe” group from our PD network that we breakfast with once a month. It’s an interesting dynamic though because we separate into two groups, CarePartners and People with PD, and I am not sure how much socialization goes on that other table. My husband has said once or twice that we have too much fun at our end of the room.

Part of our solution has become family dinners at our house, something I do on a monthly basis. They provide social interaction and give family members a chance to see where we are so they might better understand what is happening. My husband doesn’t engage in conversations like he once did, yet he seems to enjoy the company almost as much as I do. It’s not a huge crowd, usually about ten of us, which can still be overwhelming if we’re all in the same room. We keep it to a couple of hours as I know how tiring it can be for both of us. It may be tiring, but it is essential as we try to maintain some outside connections on our journey with PD.