It's Spring Break for my kids this week. We kicked around lots of trip ideas, including a cruise, Destin, and Hawaii. In the end, I decided traveling that far would be potentially risky for me. It is hard for me to get comfortable these days. As a result, I decided to send Tara, Will and Alli skiing with some friends in Breckenridge. They are having a ball skiing in one of my favorite skiing locations. I want my kids to love skiing as much as I do. I also feel like Tara and the kids need a break from caring for me. I say that because studies show that ALS patients don't really get more depressed as the disease progresses, yet Caregivers show a significant increase in depression as the disease progresses. Although the results of this study may seem counterintuitive, I believe it's accurate. Watching my body wither away has been hard on my family. The strain of my constant needs is sometimes overwhelming. Yet I feel my outlook has remained relatively steady throughout the course of the disease. I hope they're having fun. I am. See the picture of me kicking back below.

We returned from our RV trip Saturday night. It was a great family trip, thanks to excellent planning and execution by Tara's brother Chris. Chris even had one of his employees, Sam, along on the trip to drive and keep the RV in in working order. With 12 people on board, that wasn't always easy either. It went so well I am sure the RV trip will become a family tradition. See a few of the pictures from the trip in the photo album. We spent 2 days in Key west, 2 days in Orlando at Disney and Universal, and a day in Pensacola where we saw the Blue Angels perform over the beach. There were lots of great stories from the trip I'll write about later. Make it a great week.

We are leaving on our RV trip tomorrow. It should be a great family trip. We are going with Tara's brother Chris and his family, and Tara's parents. Chris organized the trip and hired a driver to do the driving, so we can relax and enjoy our time together. Even though it's a 40 foot RV, with 12 people on board it will be tight. Fortunately, however, we are staying in hotels once we reach each destination, so there won't be any roughing it. Tara begged Chris to let us stay in RV parks along the way, but Chris wouldn't hear of it..ha.

 

This is my first major trip since I went into my chair. It should be interesting. We will be towing my wheelchair van behind the RV, so I fully expect the van to be destroyed somewhere along the way. It should make getting around at each of our Florida destinations a lot easier, though. I can't imagine the 40 foot RV will get us anywhere near an entrance, so having the van with a handicap tag should come in handy.

 

Have a great week. If any criminals are reading this, there is a large former Navy Seal staying at my house while we're gone.