Adventures are in-tents ⛺️

Where Emma talks microadventures

Hello, thank you all for your continued good wishes. I am on the mend post covid and even tried some housework today 😱 never again, dearest readers, never. An extra big hello to my new subscribers!

This week I thought I’d talk about getting out and about with Parkinson’s. Always a mission of planning, caveats and promises of sacrifices to a plethora of gods.

I had a lovely conversation with someone this morning about our family’s microadventures. Where we pack up and disappear into the wilderness for a few days - it’s bliss getting away from the city and people and hanging out in nature.

The peculiar thing is even if I am a complete pile of Parky symptoms at the point of departure by the time I’m 15 minutes into the wild they have subsided. It’s a sort of miracle effect. I can walk without falling, weaving or crashing into the nearest wall. Now, now don’t get pedantic I know there are limited walls in the outdoors. Point is my body seems to behave almost as ‘normal’. I have read that Parkinson’s people fair better on uneven ground and that certainly holds true in my case.

Certainly, the reduction in stress has an impact. I’m generally relaxed and happy when camping or walking which has a knock-on to minimising symptoms.

My chat today got me thinking about micro-adventures that suit people with chronic illnesses. The challenge is the inconsistency of our conditions.

This popped up on my timeline and really hit a chord:

This makes any planning, especially for trips and adventures very hard. It’s why we do the camping trips we do. Short, close to home and largely a known territory. Those things take out the ‘oh shit my body’s rebelled and gone all clusterfuck’ to ‘oh no feeling great, oh well not to worry let’s tuck up on the sofa instead’.

We can try another day/week/month/millennium. Generally, no one is let down and I’m not left feeling my stupid Parkinson’s has ruined everyone’s holiday.

We have started extending that to further afield. We try to house swap with my mum, who lives in Edinburgh. It works well. A familiar space, a base to explore from and no harm done if we only make it to the pub at the end of her street and not Edinburgh Castle.

Don’t get me wrong. I love to travel and especially adventure travel that takes years through the African veld or somewhere equally exciting. But that’s not happening with family life for a start and those days may well be behind me and Mr P.

But mini-trips, little adventures and taking it when I am able and not forcing the issue does at least allow me to feel I have a life that’s not just Parkinson’s being a monumental ball ache.

What are your adventures? How do you cope with longer holidays? Let me know in the comments :)

Our inflatable rafts…