Sunday, July 6, 2025 – Day 327

Sunday, July 6, 2025

Good morning, rise and shine!

It’s the last day of the 4th of July weekend. We’re hoping to catch the parade today—if the rain doesn’t interfere. Outrunning raindrops in a wheelchair is tricky business, but hey, it’s only water. Not the worst thing that could happen.

The last couple of weeks have been hot… even by my standards. My internal heating and cooling system is completely out of whack. I used to carry a pullover everywhere…especially if we were going to a restaurant where the A/C was cranked. Not anymore. These days, I’m running warm all the time, thanks to all those twitching muscles generating heat like a furnace. So now I stay indoors on these hot, humid days with the A/C running full blast… just like a normal person. I’ve made peace with being indoors more often…not thrilled about it, but I’ve accepted it. There’s just not much I can do outside these days… except fall down. And I’m trying to avoid fall #10.

One frustrating change due to the ALS has been my ability to swallow pills. For the past couple of weeks, it’s become a chore. I start to gag when I put the usual handful in my mouth, and there’s a good chance I’ll spit one or two out before they make it down. It’s no fun. I’ve started breaking them into smaller batches, and I’ll probably be down to one pill at a time soon and then crushing them as a last resort. If one pill happens to be horse-sized? Forget it. I try to chug water to open my throat, but that usually ends in choking, spitting out water and pills, and a panic attack for poor Cindy. Not exactly a relaxing way to start or end the day.

We went out to dinner last night—just the two of us. It’s rare we go out unless we’re meeting someone, so this was our attempt at a spontaneous date night. Cindy suggested The Breakers, which sounded like a great change of pace. We left around 5:00 p.m.—which, frankly, is pushing it for our version of “late night.” But as we pulled into the lot, it hit us: the place was completely empty. Then we remembered…The Breakers always closes during the 4th of July week. Ugh. So we turned around and headed home, where one of us had leftovers. I stuck with a formula feeding to stay on track with the nutrition plan. I’ve been aiming for two formula feedings a day, and since I had pizza for lunch, that left me little wiggle room. Sure, it didn’t land quite as nicely as Chinese food and a couple of mai tais would have…but at least I wasn’t making Cindy wrestle my wobbly self into the house afterward.

We’re hoping to get out today, just to shake up the routine. There’s only so much reading I can do before all the Prey books start to blur together. I’ve read 17 of them since April 28—averaging one every four days. I’m part way through Phantom Prey and finding myself re-reading parts because the plots and characters are starting to blend together. Might be time for a short break… maybe read something else, or do something else for a change. Cindy has the puzzle board setup…I think I know what the something else is.

Since we’re still in the holiday weekend, I thought some spontaneous dancing on the pier is in order. I’m recording…so I’m not actually in the video…there are other videos with me making a fool of myself doing my “Andy dance” and they may show up at a later date.

Have a great Sunday.

Love you guys!❤️