A Picture and A Story

Wow! This is the 15th straight day that I have written in our new blog! Frankly, I am quite impressed with myself. I will admit, however, that I wish Dennis would take a turn and give me a day off. I am sure he will one day, but until that day actually occurs, I must carry on. After all, I am the one who set the intention of writing each day for one year.

I am sure that I have mentioned that we love to travel. I can't imagine writing for 15 days in a row without having stated that fact at least one time. In light of that, I decided to post a picture of Dennis from our trip to Spain last year, and a story to go with this photograph.



Look at his plump calves. I haven't seen him like this for so long. He weighed over 200 pounds at this point, and now he is fortunate if he can keep his weight above 170.

That was an aside, I was just amazed at the change when I saw the picture.

I loved and hated this trip at the same time. It was the first trip we took where Dennis could not "pull his weight", as we began to call this new concern.

I loved the country, the food and all of the places that we stayed. This picture was taken in Northern Spain at a B&B set in the mountains, and a one hour drive to anywhere. We were in the farm country, and I often thought about my mom, because I always think of her as loving picturesque countryside. The food at this B&B was wonderful. They had the most magnificent coffee at breakfast and a extremely filling buffet. At night, the chef, who was working hard at making a name for himself, made delicious dinners. They even had an inexpensive wine list that we took advantage of nightly.

I hated this trip because I (yes, I take full credit) had been too ambitious when planning the whole thing. We spent time in six different destinations, flying and driving between locations. It was just too much, since I had to do so much of the labor. I am weary once again just thinking about the whole ordeal.

Dennis tried very hard to "pull his own weight," but he just wasn't capable of doing very much. He was using a cane at the time and barely getting around. He couldn't carry luggage, and was beginning to have lots of trouble with stairs. He could not drive, but he could navigate, sorta. He doesn't read Spanish maps or signs and he had trouble changing the position of his head from map to road. We had a few arguments during that trip simply due to our denial about what the two of us were capable of handling at the time.

We began the social security disability process when we returned home. According to the government, half-way between the beginning and the ending of this particular trip, Dennis had become officially disabled. No wonder I was tired.

That's my story and I am sticking to it!

Until Tommorow,
Ann and Dennis