Just Swaying to the Music...and holding each other up!!

             HAPPY ANNIVERSARY            

 Don & Carol  

52 years and still dancing!

      

                    

June 24th 2013 we will celebrate 52 years of marriage. The picture above is of us dancing at our granddaughter Alishia's wedding on June 1st 2013.

We have been blessed with 8 wonderful children; 16 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.

I'm not sure that you would call what we are doing, dancing, but we are swaying to the music and holding each other up.

I think that is how we have spent the last 52 years, and that is about all that any of us can do.

Our blessings are too numerous to count; we still pray that we can be of service to others.

Parkinson's has certainly slowed us down and we may not look pretty anymore, but we love being together and plan to enjoy an eternity together...swaying to the music and holding each other up!!

DANCE for PD: SO MUCH FUN !! and a note about the National Parkinson's Foundation

 

 

THE WONDERFUL MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP

&

THE BROOKLYN PARKINSON GROUP

This is our new FAVORITE THING!! Don and I have enrolled in the Dance for PD dance class at the Des Moines, WA Senior Acttivity Center. The classes are wonderful...IT'S FREE...New Friends...a REASON to GET OUT of the HOUSE...we enjoy the one hour drive to Des Moines and the chance to eat lunch at a restaurant...and best of all WE ARE MOVING and TOGETHER. If you know someone with a PD diagnosis please check the website at "Dance for PD" and watch clips of classes on YouTube "Why Dance for PD".

 

While we were in Florida for our granddaughter's wedding, we had a chance to visit with our son who has just been diagnosed with Parkinson's; he asked if we had visited the National Parkinson's Foundation website and I had to admit that I had not. I picked up my iPad and immediately searched and found so much wonderful information (don't know why I hadn't gone there before...duh!). Our son told us that he had recieved the ID braclet (Free) from contacting them and also a wonderful information kit (also Free)...we ordered two...one for me and one for Don. I was also able to link to the wesite for this fabulous Dance Program and found one in our area (1 hour away) at home in Washington...I can't tell you how much this has helped us already!! We knew we had had a workout after the first class, but felt stronger and able to move better right away. I ordered the DVD they offered for at home use even before we left Florida so it would be there when we arrived home. The other day Don's caregiver arrived at 9:00 a.m. and we were both still in bed and feeling like we wanted to stay there all day, but of course I had to get up and take care of the dog while Justina helped Don. It wasn't long before I was ready to lay down on the couch; I just wasn't moving well or feeling motivated to do anything and then I remembered that I hadn't told Justina about the dance class. I thought that she might like to see the DVD and use the program with some of her other clients, so I put it in the DVD player. It wasn't long before we had the dining room chairs out and we were doing the dances together. Two dances later and I had my ENERGY back and felt motivated to keep on moving through the day. THIS IS THE BEST THING WE HAVE DONE FOR OURSELVES and when the GRANDKIDS came yesterday they each got a chair and JOINED IN...GOOD EXERCISE for all of us and so much FUN...when their mom came to take them home they wanted to show her their favorite dances...QUALITY TIME spent together (even if it was "screen time" on the big TV). So here is the information...hope you will feel like joining us. There are many of these dance classes across the country; check out the website to see if there is one near you.