Road Trips

Before my husband, Tim, became ill, driving together was one of our favorite activities. We wandered around, finding side roads and exploring unknown places. Tim loved to drive.

Since his illness, however, his ability to drive is very limited, so I do almost all of it. Rather than the relaxing and enjoyable activity we experienced before, our trips now, even the shortest ones, are frequently painful and stressful. I’m on guard for bumps in the road to avoid, attempting to minimize the jostling of the car, and trying to protect Tim from additional pain. But we’ve decided that pain and the fear of pain will not keep us from still doing things together.

Each year Tim and I grow a few vegetables in our small garden. There are many farms within an hour or so of our home that sell vegetable seedlings for gardeners. This year I asked Tim if he’d like to try going with me to buy the seedlings. We could always turn back if the drive proved too painful. The day was beautiful and sunny. We found lovely tomato and pepper plants. Yes, it took him the rest of the week to recover, but it was worth it to both of us to experience a “road trip” again together.