Goin’ places that I’ve never been
Seein’ things that I may never see again
And I can’t wait to get on the road again
I would say it to Cat as we barreled down the runway to far-flung destinations or, more appropriately, when starting a road trip by car. In a way, it was one of our mantras.
Over two years ago, when we moved to Brookdale Chambrel Senior Living Facility in Roswell, GA. It served its purpose at the time. Cat was not only struggling with early-onset Alzheimer’s, but she was also having generalized tonic-clonic/grand mal seizures about once a month. Sometimes as many as three a day. I wrote about our struggles with seizures in a previous post called, Seizures and Proper Hydration.
I enrolled her in Hospice care and hired four fabulous ladies to assist me 16 hours a week. Two of them even traveled with us as we continued to achieve our goal of doing a half marathon in all 50 states. Cat accomplished that goal for marathons back in 2020.
She has been seizure-free for over a year, so it is time to turn the page, start a new chapter in our lives, and go back on the road. Our Love for Travel is pretty much our guiding light. Even though she can no longer run, with the thought of motion being medicine, she still walks at least 6 miles daily.
Our first stop is St. Simons Island, Georgia, to celebrate her 64th birthday on May 1. One of the ladies who used to help me with Cat moved there, so I will have some help while there. We will then be off to St. Kitts for the summer, where Cat and I have enjoyed many previous trips there over the years. We even got stuck there for a month when they closed their borders due to COVID back in 2020.
We will still keep our hub concept as we did before we came to Brookdale, along with our doctors. I am still in the planning stages for the fall, with us going to San Diego, where my oldest son, Aaron, and his Family live.
Back in the day, when we first started our nomadic Lifestyle, we moved around about every 4 days, but as I once predicted, this will be more like every several months. Delta will continue to be our preferred Airline, hence the Atlanta hub concept. Hertz and Uber for ground transportation and trusty Marriott and VRBO for lodging.
It turns out that in St. Kitts, the very nice Marriott Resort there has Villas they rent out for 3 months or more at a very reasonable price, especially during the summer months. You do have to leave St. Kitts every 90 days, and some long-time visitors take a 90-minute ferry or puddle jumper to Antigua for a day or two to reset the 90-day clock.
I am uncertain how long we can continue this once again Nomadic lifestyle, but as I get older, it is clear that death and taxes are the only things you can be certain of. On a previous trip to San Diego, we toured a very nice facility called Paradise Village, so that is one alternative for us down the road.
I must say it was getting rather depressing for me at Brookdale as people aged in place and left us, as indicated by their pictures and flowers near the reception area. Some I knew quite well.
The thought of us getting our miles in along the Atlantic, Pacific, or Caribbean Sea is very appealing to me right about now, especially since with the seizures in our rearview mirror, Cat is once again a breeze to travel with.
I leave you with a poem I wrote many years ago.
Three simple vowels can mean so much, but how early is often asked.
How early depends on so much, but no one seems to know the past.
Why me is often asked.
What did I do or did not do?
You had so many plans and so many things to do.
But now the future is so uncertain, and now we have no clue.
Early Onset grabs you in your prime, but not just for you.
It shows who loves whom.
Your family, your friends, or even a passing acquaintance.
All the loved ones that you once knew.
But only your partner, who is now your caregiver, knows for sure.
They will never leave your side if they truly care.
Some call them a hero when you often feel like a zero.
They learn to understand and try to slow the onset.
It is never unclear what they never want you to forget.
Do they continue to go to work and leave you home alone in a chair?
When they come home, all they get is a blank stare.
Should we settle into a routine, or should we try something new?
Put everything in storage and find a new view?
No guidance is provided as we chart the decline.
Hoping the decline is not a high-speed slide but more like a power-off glide.
A glide to a soft landing, but more likely a rough and bumpy ride.
Alzheimer’s means so much, but so little is known, not even a hunch.
Waiting for the end, but that might be as long as a decade.
Years for many and decades for a few.
Many watch, but only a few will truly see.
It might show them their future, of how it might be.
Some loved ones want to remember only the brighter days, but if the truth be told,
The afflicted only want a loving hand to hold.
A funny story to be told or just a simple loving gaze.
They are easily forgotten, so in turn, they hide.
Maybe one day there will be a cure, but now they put their plans aside.
Alzheimer’s is much more than your memory.
That is where it starts, but as time goes on, it breaks your heart.
It steals who you are.
It takes your personality that make you a star.
Shining bright but now going dim.
It is a lot less than a death sentence, some might think.
But this one is so unpredictable, and you can be gone in a blink.
How we spend the years or decades is not often our choice.
Some only hope they are not put in a home with strangers all around in rooms you’re not allowed to roam.
In your mind, you’re truly all alone.
They only want to be loved, not so easily forgotten.
They try so hard to form a simple sentence, no matter who they are.
Some have resilience, but for how long?
Will it be tomorrow?
No one seems to know.
Many offer pills and easily take your Money as they catch you with their lure.
Some have puzzles still, others suggest games, a few say use it or lose it, but no one knows for sure.
Sing, dance, or Exercise should be the plan, but in reality, they were dealt a very bad hand.
Will you get impatient, not willing to wait and see?
Will you take the easy path and take it on your own?
They stop eating so they can hold on to the last thing that will take them back home.
We chose to see the world as we do on foot.
Like others do not know for how long, but we know that we will always be together no matter what.
The post On the Road Again first appeared on Running With Cat.
