Senior citizens .......... I love them!

Parkinson's Disease has a sense of humor and likes to sneak up on you if you aren't paying attention.  Sure, I noticed the tremors, but the rigidity or slowness, not so much. The first time I noticed how slowly I moved was on a cruise ship filled with seniors and I was completely shocked. My Wonderful Husband was taking the stairs two at a time and then I noticed that almost everyone was walking faster than me, even the folks with walkers and canes! 

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The real kicker came when I went to visit my Aunt who lived by herself in an upstairs apartment. I hadn't seen her in years and yet, when my Wonderful Husband and I got to the door, she asked me if I could make it up the stairs. Somehow she knew that those 13 stairs would give me trouble. So there I was, 46-years old and being helped up the steps by a tiny and almost blind 94-year old  woman. We joked about it every phone call after that. She lived to be 97 and could still take those stairs better than I could.

I look healthy, and except for the Parkinson's, I am healthy and I can sometimes fool younger folks but I can't fool the older ones. If there is one thing I've learned in life, it is never under-estimate senior citizens. They watch over me and know instantly whether I am doing good or bad.

I used to live in a RV Park filled with seniors, and if they noticed that I was having trouble, they would come rescue me in a golf cart. Of course, they would never say they were rescuing me, they would come up with a good excuse to give me a ride home.  

The ladies were more creative:  "Hey I need your advice, can I give you a ride while we talk" or "Can you show me where Ann lives, she's near you, right?"  

But the men were more fun. They would say things like: "My wife isn't looking, can I give a ride to the prettiest girl in the park" or "Let's stir up some gossip, will you ride with me". These were extremely funny to me, since I knew their wives had sent them to get me, but I played along. I no longer live there and I miss all my friends and the golf cart rides.

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Now I live in a new housing community and I walk every morning with George, a neighbor of mine who is 78-years young.  Some days we walk for 45 minutes, some days we only do 10, it all depends on how we feel.  We watch the sunrise, check out the new construction and see how people have decorated their homes and yards. Sometimes, we even get to see a cactus blooming. But the best part of all is sharing stories and laughing!  What a great way to start the day!  

Beautiful metal wall decoration

 

Arizona Loch Ness Monster

Thank you for reading this story, I hope you enjoyed it. This is just one of a hundred stories in my book, Parkinson's Humor - Funny Stories about My Life with Parkinson's Disease. Please consider purchasing a copy from Amazon.com or your favorite online book seller. Thank you and have a Happy Parky Day!