By William

(‘Lenny & Me’ refers to myself and my constant companion – chronic illness and disabilities with the lungs in severe asthma/COPD. ‘Lenny’ is a name I gave my chronic illness because giving it a name I find it easier to deal with.)

            As embarrassing as this is, I will be upfront and honest – most of this post was written at the beginning of August and for what ever reason, it never was finished and posted….so here it is now.

I write a lot about how those of us with a constant struggle battling off a chronic illness and/or disability will seemingly find ourselves settled into routines.

            Whether they be yearly, monthly, weekly, daily, or even hourly routines – they are routines which keeps one at an elevated level of comfort.

            Recently I made a choice (remember, no matter how our chronic illness and/or disability is – we still have choices) to step out of the comfort zone of routines and take a five-day road trip with my daughter, her husband, my grandson and his best friend.

            This was not going to be just any road trip, it was going to be a road trip to Branson, Missouri, a place for which I had never been, but many times hoped to get to.

            I left my wife and puppy, Frosty Lou, at home early on Saturday morning and caught up with my daughter and family about 45 minutes later where we then caravanned to Branson, another 5 ½ hours down the highways.

            Was I ever glad that I was great as a teenager when it came time to play chase with our cars as I was able to stay up with my son-in-law despite a steady rain and at least two of those – opps, we went the wrong way and have to double back – excursions.

            After driving a solid seven-plus hours we finally got to Branson where we found and got checked into the rented Condo where my grandson and friend helped unload my stuff as we had to go down some steep stairs to get to the place, thanx for young, youthful helpers.

            Shortly after getting settled in a bit, we headed out to find a place to eat before making our first item on the four-day agenda – attending an evening show by the family group ‘The Haygoods’. What an awesome show it was and despite having to walk a bit from the car to the theatre entrance and back to the car after the show, I had made it through the first day and challenges.

            Did I tell how rattled I got when we first arrived in Branson as I did not realize how hilling and congested Saturday afternoon traffic would be. Needless to say, my son-in-law became designated driver from that point on.

  • Sunday, went down on Branson Boulevard along the river, ate at Smith Creek Moonshine Restaurant, walked on the riverfront for a bit then went night sightseeing in Branson and found out just how winding and steep some of the roads/streets were.
  • Monday = went to Wax Museum, Maze of Mirrors, and the Castle of Chaos – a virtual reality group thing. Ate at Shoney’s (a buffet restaurant) before closing out the day seeing Rick Thomas the Magician and his ‘Mansion of Dreams’ performance at the famous Andy Williams Theatre.
  • Tuesday = I was shot, my knees hurt, my blood pressure was out of sync, and I just needed a break from the heat index of 106…so I closed out the trip in the condo writing and watching the passing golfers as the condo sat right on hole number two of the Point Royale Country Club.
  • Wednesday = we packed up and headed home.

The trip home also became somewhat of an adventure as we found ourselves needing to take a major detour that somehow found us driving on a rather narrow two-lane highway surrounded by cornfields in southwest Missouri.

            Eventually we found our way to Iola, Kansas where I swapped out my teenage grandson and his friend for just an empty car and my own thoughts.

            Being in Iola for the first time since my brother and his family moved to Nebraska did give me an opportunity to check out the communities newest grocery store where my said brother worked before taking early retirement. It was nice to see the folks there missing his work ethic so much.

            Needless to say, by the time I arrived home late in the evening, I was exhausted, and my body stayed that way for several days.

            But I did prove to myself that I could make a trip like that if well planned and allowed for much down time for the body to recuperate.

            And that folks is where ‘Lenny and I’ were for today at the end of July.

            Again, sorry for the late posting, guess I got busy and put the write in a folder and forgot about it – as much to do about age and missteps of my mind as anything else.

            A REMINDER – Do you have any comments or questions about my postings, then feel free to leave a comment on either at this blog, at the email address of wheezingaway@gmail.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/copdtravels/.

ALWAYS REMEMBER (because I have COPD and severe Asthma) – If you or anyone you know have any symptoms involving lung and breathing functionality, and they linger over and over while disrupting a lifestyle – then please ask questions and get it checked out.

            With that, I bid to all – smiles, prayers, blessings, and steady breathing – Mr. William.

(Copyright@2022, CrossDove Writers through wheezingaway.com – no part of this write may be used or copied without written permission.)

NOTES & DISCLAIMER: Sometimes we share what may seem like medical information, but we are only giving descriptions and highlights of various aspects of having COPD and/or Asthma and no way do we ever want our information to be considered medical treatment type of information, always consult your physician for more, clearer medical founded information.