Today we are travelling down to Winchester to celebrate my Aunt’s 9oth birthday. My brother is driving us down there in his van, along with George (his Gordon Setter) and my mother (who has advanced Parkinson’s Disease). We have to leave our dog with my wife’s youngest son and his girlfriend for the day, so go to Hevingham first to drop her off, and then to Stalham where my brother and mother reside. I’m glad not to be driving – I’m definitely not up to driving such a long distance at the moment. It will be interesting to see if the excitement of the occasion (it’s been several years since I have seen my Aunt and my cousins) causes any impulsive behaviour to emerge.
It’s a long drive – 220 miles each way – and it takes us nearly 4 and a half hours (including a pit stop at a McDonald’s along the way). We arrive in Winchester to find many of the roads in the city have been closed for some sort of event. Amazingly we manage to find our destination (it was a complete mistake, but life’s like that sometimes) and find parking within a stone’s throw of the Hotel Mercure, where our family gathering is taking place. We transplant my mother from the van to her wheelchair without too much drama, and make our way to the bar!
The next few hours pass by with startling velocity. It’s really good to see my aunt and cousins again, and to meet all of their extended families. In most cases we have met before, in the dim and distant past, but we haven’t been in touch. Girls and boys that I remember have become men and women, mothers and fathers. The next generation shuffling up the ranks.
My tremor is still present but not too distracting, so I resist the temptation to tinker with the settings. I haven’t had any recurrence of dyskinesia or impulsive behaviour and don’t want to risk provoking either one of them. I have noticed a slightly manic quality to my laugh, but nobody else seems to notice it, and my wife would certainly tell me if I were acting out of character. My balance is relatively good today, but my walking feels a little stilted – I’m not tripping or stumbling, though, so it can’t be too bad!
After eating and drinking and chatting it’s time to return to Norfolk, and we get mum back in the van and say our goodbyes. It’s 1.15am by the time we get back to my brother’s house in Stalham. Mum has had a ‘freezing‘ episode, and it takes us almost half an hour to get her out of the van and into the house. By the time my wife and I get home and get to bed, it’s almost 3am. A bit of a lie-in is called for in the morning, methinks!