A creature of haddock

Life with dementia and Parkinson's brings plenty of losses, but from time to time it gives back, too. On being pressed to try something new a few weeks ago, Euan indignantly declared, 'But I'm a creature of haddock!' We both fell about laughing, and we laugh about it still. Dementia can disrupt your vocabulary filing system, and this can be a total pain, but Euan's favourite meal is indeed a haddock supper, or a nice spicy kedgeree, or smoked haddock with a soft poached egg, so, as well as being a chap who likes things to be predictable and certain, we find he is quite literally a creature of haddock. And when he is overdue a beard trim and hair cut, I have long called him Captain Haddock. Who knew? Hurrah for dementia!

As well as clearly being a creature of haddock, Euan is pretty fond of cake and ice cream, too. And a silver lining of Parkinson's is that the effort it takes to get through each day burns so many calories that Euan never puts on weight - he can tuck in to these sweet treats without any concern about his waistline. If only!

Yum!

Yum!

Yum!

Clearly the ice cream habit runs in the family...and is readily encouraged by partner in ice cream crime, Jon. Support worker Craig is learning fast under Euan's tutelage...

Brotherly love!

"This is how you do it, Euan"

Apprentice in training

Learning to find joy

Even in the most challenging situations, we often find ourselves laughing till we cry

Euan declaring that he is a creature of haddock reminded us how it important it is for us to find the silver linings, the giggles in unexpected places, the joy that we never would have thought could be found in life with Parkinson's dementia, the importance of embracing the wonderful wonkiness of Parkinson's.

Yes, it's a tough gig, and there's lots to grieve and but laughter is a great healer, and it's amazing how many times we find ourselves smiling or chuckling or heaving great belly laughs over things that just wouldn't have been part of our story if it wasn't for Messers P & D. This is the story we are living now. It's not the one we imagined would be ours at this stage in our life and we wouldn't wish it on anyone else, but if we didn't look for the joy and the laughter in this strange, wonky, topsy turvy tale of ours, the story we are living would be all the poorer. It's not always easy, but we are choosing to try and find the joy.

Where do you find joy?

I wonder what Parkinson's pickles or dementia dilemmas have made you chuckle? Where do you find joy in the story you're living? What helps you get through and create a story that has more light that dark?

And if you are finding it hard to find the joy (and that's entirely possible), check out the self-care and support pages on this site for some good ideas that might help a bit.

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