Sleep...

I write a lot about my sleep. From sleep anxiety to REM sleep behavior disorder to falling asleep uncontrollably to dreams to not getting enough sleep due to medicines to getting too much sleep due to Parkinson's to sleep apnea, I spend about a 1/3 of my time talking about the 1/3 of my life that I should be sleeping. Actually, it's not quite a 1/3 of the time discussion, but that similarity in numbers says something. I also have been sleeping more than 1/3 of my time asleep lately. That says something, too.

I blame that (in a very positive way) on the Himalayan salt lamp I've been using. I also blame this on air conditioning and a fan keeping me cold like I'm permanently visiting New Orleans.

If you'd like to try it for yourself, the link above goes to a lamp. You can read about my trip to the Salt Lounge in Wyomising HERE (also includes info about sleeping disorders). Let's just say, since that 12 hour doze off after coming back from my half hour nap in the lounge, my room is now perfect for sleeping.

And what's more, I don't miss the sleep apnea mask that didn't work anyway.

So why do we sleep? The theories are out there, but we're not sure if it's brain plasticity, restoration, energy conservation, or protection. That said, we do, and it's won-der-ful!

Unlike the days in Basic Training, I don't bolt out of bed with enthusiasm and a salute as I exclaim, "Sir, Airman Glass reports as ordered!" Then again, I don't tend to get woken up to be yelled at or motivated unless my wife wants to go out to eat and I'm still asleep!

For me, I don't always wonder why I dream, though theories speculate on whether it's about memory formation, an extension of wide-awake consciousness, protection, making sense of past / present / future, biochemicals in the brain, or problem solving.

I'd like to hope I could dream like Edgar Cayce (if that could really be done) or astral project (if that could really be done), but they seem a little out of my league right now, despite my connection to Parkinson's lucid dreaming world.

This is a question your neurologist will ask you, so whether you're feeling the wild psychedelic dream world or not, you might want to see the link above.

I love knowing I'm dreaming so I can respond to things and do things. I will talk to myself in dreams, which is kind of cool. Occasionally, I will think about doing things in dreams. I know that my ability to do this has made me fly and survive battles in the surreal. If you go to the article above, you can see the kind of things that lucid dreamer Berit Brogaard has been able to do.

I should add that I write a lot about this kind of dreaming in my last book The Rules of the Game, and I am writing more in Intersections, which is the followup.

Thankfully, with the more peaceful rest of the salt lamp and salt therapy, I sleep deeper, longer, and get more in the REM sleep (dreaming state).

Thus, the only question left is where should I go tonight?

Sleep Anxiety: Yet Another Hidden Symptom

My wife and I are driving down a winding road in my new to me used car. It has replaced my beloved older car, which “died” saving me from an accident. Normally, the ride is a pretty smooth one, but for some reason, I am not able to hug the curves carefully enough, and my car goes careening off the road into a lake.

As it begins to sink, we hurry to keep it afloat. There is no way that I can lose 2 cars in about 4 months, so I must do everything in my power to keep it from sinking to the bottom of the lake. As I do this, I keep pinching myself to see if this situation is real or a dream. I’m pretty sure it isn’t actually happening, but it feels real. Nevertheless, for what I can’t feel in the lack of sensation my pinch creates, the dream is not ending. The car continues to sink, and I can feel the weight of this moment coming after me as it goes on and on.

As time goes on, there is a palpable feeling that my car is definitely sinking, and I'm truly in a world of not-so-good-ed-ness. This is getting scarier and scarier as I try to save my car and pinch myself to see if the madness is real.

Eventually, the dream does end, and I am safe in my bed, but all too completely aware that this is another one of my Parkinson’s dreams playing tricks with me.

If the commercial placement of hallucinations in the life of a Parkinson’s patient is any indication, then people are becoming aware of this side effect in the lives of people with said neurological condition. While it’s not a stretch to think of people with neurological conditions experiencing these issues of things happening that aren’t happening (for instance, ghostlike movement off to a person with PD's sides in an otherwise empty house OR paranoia regarding what family members are “doing” to them), society often blanks out on the way dreams affect Parkinson’s since they tend to be isolated from the slumbering Parkinsonian.

All things considered, why would they know?

If I were to go back to college now, I would love to work on a huge project with Parkinson’s and REM Sleep Behavior Disorder. It would be great to do an independent study where I could look into issues of hallucinations, anxiety, dreams, and visions regarding neurological conditions.

I know what you’re thinking: This dude needs serious help.

But it’s true. I love trying to sift through the dream symbolism and surreal nature of my dreams to decipher what they mean. These include winning big at a casino (compulsive gambling is a rare symptom of Ropinerole and other meds like it), being afraid of my friend driving wildly, ending up at Sandals for a romantic tryst as part of a comedy movie, going to a concert with Pete Yorn rolling around on the ground singing songs that sound more like Sun Kil Moon than him (after seeing Blink 182 and the Offspring collaborate as skateboarders go wild on a halfpipe), waking up and feeling an earthquake shake through my room, flying above a slot canyon on my command, searching for a lighthouse in Britain (which I never get to), and fighting people to the death with makeshift spears, which culminates with me actually punching at my antagonists.

What does all of this mean?

Well, for one, if it involves out of the dream punching, kicking, and scratching, then it means REM Sleep Behavior Disorder is present. This is one of the first signs of having Parkinson’s. One longitudinal study with 29 patients found that almost 40% of those surveyed (a very small amount, mind you) had Parkinson’s diagnoses in a little over a decade. That’s definitely cause for more research.

For two, it means that when we dream, we can feel the anxiety of our lives pushed into dreams, though this isn’t always true. Sometimes, it’s just smoking cessation meds, blood pressure meds, or Parkinson’s meds creating a weird situation in the brain. Insomnia or sleep deprivation can also cause nightmares, but in other cases, anxiety can manifest itself into our unconscious world of sleep problems.

For three, it means that demons are trying to possess said person. In this case, get the patient to a nunnery or monastery, as appropriate! Actually, you’d do better to call Father Karras. He or the Warrens are your only hope.

But since this is reality for a Parkinson’s patient (gotta love our dopamine level fluctuations), it could be a little bit of 1+2. Many of us tend to deal with depression, angst, feelings of meaninglessness, loneliness, loss of independence, communication problems, suicidal ideations, worry, aggression, nihilism, absurdity, crisis of faith, and rejection. Isn’t it obvious that we would feel anxious in both sleep and real life?

Add to this a bizarre cocktail of medicines that could make Timothy Leary stare wide-eyed, and you have a recipe for problems.

This is not always true, but the Mayo Clinic feels that when nightmares keep people from sleeping or wanting to go to sleep because of their intensity and frequency, then they should see a doctor, especially if this intrudes on their daily life. This article at Psychology Today lists a lot of helpful hints on controlling dream problems. These include staying on a schedule, relaxing, and things to avoid (video games and caffeine, for two).

For me, I’m not scared to dream - even when they get surreal or wild. I don’t hurt myself, and my wife is now a bedroom away, so I can’t hurt her anymore. Here, I should clearly note that I would never knowingly hurt my wife, but because of pillow stripping / throwing and scratches in the past, I had to accept this situation. I always say that it’s amazing what we can accept to stay alive, but this punishment was a bummer. Sometimes, a sleeping buddy just wants to touch toes to toes out of a feeling of, “Yeah, I love this person next to me.” It’s not meant to be some bizarre fetish either. It’s just, “I’m connected to you.” Things like that and holding hands, being in the same room, casual “I love you’s,” and hugs / kisses when leaving and coming home are the true intimacies.

 Nevertheless, those dreams… what they can’t take from us or prevent us from doing.

As I’ve written about, recently, I had a CPAP machine prescribed to me for treating sleep apnea. Nevertheless, I would tear it off in a half hour to three hours each night I wore it. I only remember one night that I took it off. Everything else… a mystery.

So far, in my Parkinson’s journey, this is my only treatment refused. There’s no point taking more anxiety / Parkinson’s meds when I’m taking 3 already. I know I’m a health helper person, but sometimes, we have to make a value choice. Do I want another med and its potential side effects so I can try to use the CPAP machine? Will I be OK without the CPAP machine if I choose not to use it?

I guess I'll find out soon.

In the meantime, bring on those dreams.

Sleep: The Good, The Scary, and The Future as Well as Some Thankful Expressions

Recently, my friend John who works at the Salt Lounge in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, invited me to experience salt therapy at his place of work.

I must say, it put me to sleep. Literally. I was awake for 15 minutes, and I fell asleep.

That's not a bad or uncommon thing. In fact, the staff warns you that it could happen because the therapy WILL relax you and make you breathe easier. Put simply, it was the bomb diggity. Right now, the goal is to take my wife back for our anniversary in August and do massages and salt therapy.

To set the stage, when you walk into the room, you are mandated to take off your socks and shoes as you walk across a floor of pink Himalayan sea salt. Apparently, people don't want to walk barefoot through your gunk, so please oblige.

All around you is additional pink sea salt, which is pumping into the room. You are given a Walkman with various trance style music to listen to, and the lights are dimmed to reveal white specks like stars, which appear as glowing lights. These flicker on and off as the spacey music fills your brain.

So there I was, sitting on an Adirondack chair, letting my thoughts vanish, and drifting into no thoughts. WHAM! I was woken up a half hour later to hear that it was over.

What? It's over!

If I were to do it again, I would have The Orb's "Little Fluffy Clouds" on. I think that would express everything I wanted to feel in the moment.

Anyway, I've had good luck with salt therapy in the past, so convincing me to go was no big deal. My wife's sister had one of those salt lamps, and I slept really well with it when we were in Georgia. This was prior to my sleep aepnea diagnosis (though I knew I had it). Right now, I don't sleep well at all, so for someone with sleeping / breathing issues, the salt is a good thing.  Now, we've got 3 set up in the house. Two were gifts from her, and one we had, but it was in the attic.

As for my post-salt therapy sleep experience, keep in mind, I went home that evening and laid down on my couch, drifting off to sleep. I woke up 12 hours later to a phone call that I was late for hiking. I didn't wake up to go to the bathroom prior to that either, which is unheard of! Also keep in mind, 12 hours of sleep is 2 nights in my world of insane sleep (more about that later).

Obviously, you good people are spread out, but if you're near Reading, Pennsylvania, you should swing on by. There's lots of other things to see and do in Wyomissing. After all, it's where Taylor Swift lived before moving to Nashville, and yes, they claim her pretty hard around here! Other than that, you're about 30 minutes from Amish Country, too.

I recommend Shady Maple Smorgasbord! It's pricey, but it's better buffet food with more quality choices. You'll feel the bloat, but it's worth it! Taylor Swift might not be able to eat in there now without being mobbed, but you might see Raymond the Amish Comic!

+++

But anyway, when it comes to sleep, I have been having issues lately. In the last 3 weeks, I have had many aggressive dreams, which is weird because I'm actually feeling pretty mellow, and in the worst of the dreams, I was falling asleep to Parks and Rec.

1) Someone is saying horrible things about Parkinson's people, so I stand up for all of us. Mind you, I am at the house my family lived at from age 16 to 29. I feel that I have nothing to lose, so I talk said person down only to confront another person who feels like he needs to keep the aggression flowing.

2) A dream where 2 former bosses melt into one another, and I have to confront them over lies they are saying. One of them is from nearly a decade and a half ago. Somehow, this dream drifts into going back to Basic Training. A lot of my dreams do. I tend to find myself in a more comfortable and capable way while there than I did in real life (yes, I get the symbolism of that). I have been back to Basic Training with my wife Heather, myself, and my former unit, some 30 years later. They're not bad dreams, but I always dread doing things like 6 inch square folding and locker inspection preparedness. I'm more exact about things like writing, but things that can just be... they tend to be.

3) I have had 2 punching dreams that I remember. In the second dream, I'm not sure why I punched, but I know I swung at the headboard. In the first dream, my wife and I were in a store, where we encountered the owner having to fight back against a rambunctious crowd of post-teens. As he defended himself, one of the thug kids asked if we wanted to help get him. I refused, and soon we were fighting off the thugs. I know I swung at least twice. Despite having no control over my out of sleep actions (a part of REM SBD, which keeps the body from being shut off), I am hyper-aware of them. In the past, this has allowed me to fly or choose direction. I can also talk to myself in my dreams. Let's just say, it's a wild ride in there. As this dream continued, I found that we were having to fashion spears to go on the attack. When it was over, it turned out that it was some kind of a game (I assume somewhere between a club and the Hunger Games), and because of that, they were gearing up for a second round.

4) I had another dream where 2 people I know were present. The wife was being condescending and hateful toward the husband, and I remember shoving her for this. As that occurred, the husband announced that the wife was cheating on him, so it was a case of me defending his honor in somewhat the way I did the people with Parkinson's in #1. After that, I remember him resolving their situation to find his independence.

5) In another dream, I met John McCain during a session of Basic Training. I remember that he was feeling that some of my observations about him were wrong, which bothered me because he's my current favorite living leader.

6) Additionally, while falling asleep, I might wake up and feel my body snapping here and there.

+++

Recently, I had another sleep study to figure out why I'm ripping my sleep apnea mask off every night. I wear it, and it doesn't feel uncomfortable. I manage to fall asleep, but in times that range from less than an hour to less than 4 hours, off it comes. I have NO KNOWLEDGE that this has happened (except in 1 case). If I sleep on my back, I fare better, but that's not perfect since I'm a side sleeper. Hence, my pulmonary doctor sent me back for more tests because she's still trying to be sure about asthma and aspiration pneumonia. I've written about THIS in the past.

I've also written about sleep apnea before. Here is part 1 and part 2.

Personally, I'm more sold on REM Sleep Behavior Disorder and Parkinson's breathing issues.

This is my first pneumonia account. This is the second.

Anyway, all 3 times, I went here (though to 2 different centers, but the same attendant Michelle). I sent this to her boss.

I am writing this letter to commend your employee, Michelle.

Over the past few months, I have been to 2 different Lancaster County sleep centers over 3 visits. Each time, I had the pleasure of being treated by Michelle. Her manner has always been upbeat and she shines with dedication to her profession.

While much of her job that that patients see deals with getting them ready for the study by “wiring them up,” she does her best to cut down on the awkwardness and potential discomfort of the on and off sticky substances. Here, she even made the “goopy” part of the experience as pleasant as can be (the same was true for the reverse part of the procedure).

Additionally, she worked hard to explain everything that was about to be done and that was done. She did while all the while answering all of my questions. While this is “part of the job,” I have an excessive amount of questions due to the fact that I have Parkinson’s disease, which is a condition that I write about for myself and Health Union.

Here, I am able to take my former life as a teacher and combine it with my current life as an educator / advocate and combine them in a written form so that other people and I will be able to understand the process. Knowing that I have a solid professional voice guiding me to answers while helping to alleviate concerns makes me confident of who she is as a professional. Also, with her help, I am able to assist others in coming to accept help with sleep apnea. To me, this is what life is all about.

Please know how appreciated your staff member is (she’s not just helping me – her care is making a difference world-wide. Here, I can say this simply: I would recommend your practice to anyone for the value she brings to it.

I really like writing letters like this, but I also like being able to be a part of the research in a hermeneutic phenomenology kind of way. While that's a big way of saying a researcher aims to find cold hard "objective" data in how people "subjectively" describe their own participation in an action. For instance, I tell you in paragraph form how it feels to get a treatment. 

Here, my writer's side allows me to express what I'm going through in enough words to really make something of it.

On that note, I hate questions like "How much pain are you in?"

What's  a 0? A perfect Sandals vacation?

What's a 10? An 8-year stint at the Hanoi Hilton?

So where is my aspiration pneumonia in all of that? Is a 4 a fair estimate? If I said 8, is this just a weak pain tolerance?

How about I just describe it to you?

Working with Michele is easy because she's into the dream aspect of the job, and was able to talk about future research with that as well as what's going on. 

For instance, I could ask her things like, "Did you catch that dream in the second half?" She would tell me she did, and she could describe some of my actions like how I moved my feet (part of my REM SBD). Unfortunately, she can't TIVO the dream for me... yet.

While there, I didn't rip the mask off, and I slept easily (as I did the other times). I had really wanted to work with the doctors to watch me do this while they explain it to me, but yeah... maybe I'll just have to set it up in my bedroom. Then again, do I really want to? I might reveal ghosts (!?!?!?!?!).

Somewhere in all of this, I find myself working to help myself, but I also find myself frustrated with the endless search for problems to label. I feel like the astronauts in Tom Hanks' Apollo 13 when they just get frustrated with being trapped in space and doubtful of their return, so they rebel against being monitored by Houston by pulling off their sensors.

Nobody will know my kidney functions now!

Of course, just like with Jim Lovell's crew, there comes a time when we need to be left to do this, and there's a time to just shut up and listen because this effort for Sisyphus might be heroic.

I'm not sure of where I am with regard to the treatment. I believe it could help, but unless I stay at the sleep center (my wife would have a problem with that) or we fastened the mask to my head with metal clasps, I'm just not sure.

Additionally, I'm done adding medicines for a while. I sleep alone, so I'm not a danger to other people, and besides, not all meds are good for me. My doc referred to my body as "too sensitive." Here, I have little interest in yet another brain medicine when I have 3 already.

In the meantime, I'll strap on my mask tonight and hope for the best.

(Also, see THIS POST for more about my sleep issues regarding some of the reasons I sleep alone as well as other issues that Parkies face in the bedroom).

13 Concepts I'm Learning about How to Deal with Things that Pile up and Threaten our Happiness (Parkinson's, Work, Personal, Medical Results)!!

As I've spoken about in many of my posts, since the last week of November, things have been accumulating on my "Pile It on List" of stress. It sometimes feels like we are breaking even as my wife and I will take a couple steps ahead, only to go back 1-3 steps with our health / life. Fortunately, we're great together, but sometimes life's stress takes it out of us. For me, I'm combatting that by operating on a written list of job tasks. It's really helping, and I win every time I color a line black or yellow.

This keeps me from being too stressed, though I'm not as orderly as I should be. That said, I'm working on it and keeping myself in that mode of us "Must do / will do." 

I recommend this for other Parkies and caregivers. Heck, I recommend this to everyone.

The point of life is to live it, but also to rewire ourselves for the what ifs. If we are taking care of someone else and not taking care of ourselves, both of us aren't in a good place since our energy tanks are low. As I said, the key is eliminate the faulty wiring and get ourselves ready for what's to come. We can do this many ways, but we need to prepare ourselves for the what ifs (relationships, job, family, cars breaking down, houses succumbing to the weather, sickness, disagreement, and other things that could happen day to day). These are the things everyone goes through,  but this person doesn't always know how to deal with them or feel like he or she can get out from underneath.

Here, if we're so inclined, we can think of Camus' take on Sisyphus, who was condemned to role a boulder up the hill only to have it go back every time. The central question was whether or not it was right to give in. Camus went with the idea of the absurdist hero, who stays true to his plight in the hope that someday he will be free.

As Albert Camus said, "I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain! One always finds one's burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night filled mountain, in itself forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."

Let's look at this with a simple definition. Stress is what it sounds like: A pile of bricks pushing down on our chests like we're Giles Corey. Generally, we aren't like this historical figure screaming out for "more weight" as the Salem Witch Trials took his life, but some of us do dig our own pitfalls and compound our problems (I'm very experienced at this - but I'm learning to be better). Here, the best advice I can give is to learn from mistakes and not make them again. That said, we need not stay out of fray where things can go all or nothing, when they're much more likely to end poorly. Nevertheless, by giving it our all with the greatest help, simply by trying, at least we made an attempt. Whether it wins big or crashes to earth, at least we can celebrate ourselves for giving our all. 

Let's just go into it with enough advice and assistance. In doing this, by thinking about our time in the game, we can reflect on how we've at least tried when we think of all the people who won't, can't, and don't want to risk failure (I'm working on accepting life success in this way, too). What good is contemplating a game we're never going to play?

How can you give your best effort until you stepped in the ring?

Another point to this concept of keeping ourselves out of trouble is that we don't have to make every decision on the spot. Sometimes, we need to think about it first (I'm also an expert at not doing this enough) and phone a friend. By cutting out the need to do, we can meditate, pray, seek advice, and / or search for evidence. That's a good thing.

Some people may not be aware that there are tests to monitor the stress in people's lives. Perhaps, this is because they have never heard of stress reviews by name, but my belief is that we've all done something like the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale in order to find out what's ailing us. Sometimes, this rewiring we're going it about knowing the rules of the game. Find a mentor, remove what doesn't need to be, find a support system, and project goodness out to the world. It may only give you a couple points back, but as you go, the things it teaches will become natural and instinctive.

Which brings us back to MWAH!

Nevertheless, I've been trying to work my way through all of these stress building experiences in a way that doesn't leave me feeling existential. As I said, I'm motivated to do things when they are written out on a list. Here, I feel like I'm working hard when I cross things off on my color coded to do list (pictured above). However, other times... not so much. Long live the Parkinson's exhaustion tendency that gets in the way... NOT!

In my mind, I know what I have to do (stay loose / stay positive), so I reflect on the simple things that make me happy OR things that I am thankful for.

We'll start with advice (#1) from my cousin David....

1) Never give up on yourself, no matter what happens.

2) Some things are priceless.

3) Whether it's writing, acting, or life, push it to the maximum. 

4) Never stop talking when you have a connection. You may not be an X, but perhaps, you were meant to be a Y.

5) Encourage others to the maximum

Moving on from that to the Parkinson's things that affect me. 

#2) My left side, which had been wracked from the car accident 2 weeks ago, is slowly getting better. As I've said before, I was able to get up and out of the car and move around, but it's really painful to lean against it now that the adrenaline and fear from that moment have vanished, so I need to keep pushing myself for walks of longer differences. Yosemite in about a week... I can't weight to see the waterfalls, bears, and rams!

3) I'm currently in the midst of my sleep apnea machine use, which is a tough process figuring out what works and doesn't. Whether a face mask or how to lay around to not feel hurt, I am conforming to the nature of going from have to do to want to do. 

For the most part, I can sleep well with it, when I can sleep (the past few nights are around 3-5 hours with a nap usually thrown in. Given about a month, I will be able to figure out how well that I'm doing with this new medical process. At that point, I will be going to MY pulmonary specialist for a check over. 

On that note, it seems weird to have a personal neurologist and a pulmonary specialist that I can all my own. At my regular doctor's office, I just get who is available at the time. However, with a regular doctor, he or she knows me, and it feels more personal.

4)That being said, the medicine cocktail I was on up until earlier today (my doc has me taking Benztropine / Cogentin to go with the Azilect / Rasagaline and Ropinerole / Requip),  has caused me to monitor a lot of what went on with it. For those reasons, I am now abandoning it on the basis that there are too many problems with it, so I will be on Sinemet.  That wasn't ideal, but seeing a spotty memory in my head... yeah. That's too much. 

From a professional standpoint, my doctor had wanted to hold that off as long as possible, but with this one not working, too (that's the 3rd medicine I was affected by), everything seems to point toward bumping up my need for Sinemet. 

5) As I said earlier, both my wife and I are monitoring the side effects of my medicine, as well as how they operate together. Looking up the side effects of what I'm taking is a learning process and a scary experience. While I can, I'm going to continue to learn everything and do things to enjoy life. Nevertheless, there is a lot of medical-ese in some of the academic things we need to accomplish, so every day is an adventure.

This list of side effects is from e-Medicine Health. There are only the ones on the list that apply to me. You can see more information about what might apply to you HERE.

On the list from them, I list the ones I am seeing and experiencing.

• confusion and hallucinations
• constipation
• dry mouth that interferes with speech, swallowing, appetite, or eating;
• blurred vision
• twitching or uncontrollable movements of your eye lids
• drowsiness, feeling nervous or excited;
• nausea, upset stomach

6) The same can be said about my sleep apnea machine's side effects / problems with it. While not everyone feels inclined to wear a CPAP mask at bedtime; however, it's a working solution that can positively affect people with sleep apnea. Studies show is prevalent in people with PD (though some people develop snoring / breathing issues based on weight). Thus, these are the 3 biggest problems:

• The mask is considered a nuisance (uncomfortable or creating claustrophobic feelings). 
• Additionally, people may get a runny nose or nasal infections. 
• Uncomfortable leaks, which keep people from getting enough air.

I would also add that if you're a twist and turner like myself, well, you will probably have to find the right way to sleep with the mask on, especially if you and your significant other are going to co-habitate in a queen or king sized bed. Considering that I'm now physically trying to touch / hit things in my sleep, I feel that I can do it under sleeping conditions in my own room without hurting my wife (when I have nothing but love for her).

7) In the past, I have spoken at length about how I generally like going into a dream world, but recently, my dreams are becoming more prone to wild arm movements. One example of this happened the other night, when I woke up the other night to feel trapped in the bedroom. I couldn't find the door or the light switch, and a feeling of anxiety came over me. Was I at the mercy of some ghost or demon that was going to suck the life out of me in a room where nobody would rescue me? That might sound funny to look at it that way, but that's not my intent. Instead, I state it to discuss a new level of PD effects with my life. 

 8) I have also spoken at length about my love of music, and how I feel that it can truly help us relax, let the dogs out, or go crazy to. 

I hadn't heard this next song in ages, but it came on the other day, and I just felt a sense of some extreme force for change. It's the same thing that exists in Neil Young's "Rockin in the Free World," Hendrix's "Voodoo Child," the Doors' "The End," MC5's "Kick out the Jams," Allman Brothers' "Whipping Post," and Joy Division's cover of the Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray." Sometimes, we just need raw, live energy like The Chambers' Brothers' "Time Has Come Today," which expresses how something needs to be said and done to make things better, even if it's just us facing down the PD demons.

9) Spending more time in my wife's garden, both to check out the flowers and to drain the ponds. Siesta Zone more often is a good thing. With that said, it's beginning to look a lot like spring!

9A) Since I'm giving mad love to my wife's creative side, here are some of her stained glass creations.

10) The new Avengers movie was great, and it's decent popcorn entertainment on the big screen. I recommend checking it out. Go to a matinee if necessary, it's worth it. If you need to, find a teenager to watch it with. That's what I did when I went with my one tutoring kid and his father. I'm sure said person will refer to the movie as exceptionally  "cool" since it works really well on that mindset. And yes, I will admit to feeling 14 in my appreciation of the movie.

11) Last Friday, Heather and I took my mom out to eat at Appleby's since my dad was away hunting and fishing. It was nice to have a bonding experience like that where we can get together and discuss life and love and the pursuit of happiness. The food was pretty good, too. 

Normally, we don't do the appetizers thing,  but sometimes, you just have to treat yourself to soft pretzels and all of their sauces. Our best tasting one was in a restaurant up in New Hampshire, where everything was top of the charts. Primanti Brothers do a good one as well, but their hot sauce is actually nuclear hot. Use sparingly. I'm living proof (beefcake, beefcake). 

If you're not familiar with Primanti Brothers, it's probably because they are a western Pennsylvania / eastern Ohio thing. Their claim to fame is sandwiches with fries and cole slaw on them. Cole slaw is too healthy for me, but fries on burgers... Yep, my wife used to go to a place in Cleveland that did that. And yes, we're hooked.

12) The best way to keep loose and lose the rigidity is to get moving. For me, this is hiking. The other day, I had to drive past a short cliff-side walk (about a mile back and forth, tops), and I was debating whether to do it or not, but as my mind tried to pull me away with its gibberish, I managed to say, "The heck with it." 

When I know I'm fighting capitulating to the concept of giving in, I need to do what I can to win since I know the only other option is to lose opportunities and time if I choose to be a huffa-lump on the couch. In this mindset, it's never easy, but then again, it never gets as easy as it does in the beginning days of having it. Thus, we must push through. When we do that, whether it's a walk back and forth on a city block or Jimmy Choi doing Ninja Warrior, we're giving it our best to keep ourselves moving forward. 

And remember, not everyone's idea of the best is the same. Thus, we need to all start back in the field somewhere. I think about this now as I feel the dystonia and cramping in my right foot, too. If I sit around and do nothing now, I will lose opportunities I can't make up later.

Thus, the bucket list.

This is something I would tell anyone who needs to / wants to push back at the rigidity. Yes, we all have to come to peace with this state on our own, so I won't mandate what others do, but I would really like to see more Parkies out in force, showing their smiles as they show that they are good lovable people who don't deserve to be thrown off of healthcare or treated like second class people. Just remember the historical evidence of Lieutenant Dan making peace with himself. 

Moving back to the hike to Chickee's Rock overlook on the Schuylkill River, I got to the top of the trail. Pausing to shoot pictures with my camera, I saw the May apples were coming out in force. When I looked closer, I saw that the little pea sized buds are forming. 

It may not have been baby owls, a flock of night herons, a huge elk, or a pair of baby black bears going down the pole. Instead, it represented something beautiful that my wife pointed out to me on a trip some years ago. 

Over the years, she's taught me a lot, and she's unwavering in her support. I hope I can continue to pay her back for all that she does for me, little by little.

On that note, I must say that no matter what we are up against, we always get through it. I couldn't think of a person who I'd rather have in my life as both my loving wife and the CEO of (what's left of) my brain!