A Good Time

One of the most difficult things about starting a new Support Group is selecting a time to meet. It is one thing to say you want to be in a Support Group, it’s another thing to give up precious time to commit to the process. After a couple years of trying to make everybody happy, I finally learned that it is best just to pick a day and time and tell people when it will be. If they make it great. If they don’t make it, I don’t have to judge their commitment because I obviously picked the wrong time for them.

Recently, I stumbled upon a day and a time that at some point works good for everybody with Parkinson’s disease. One of the most common complaints I hear about having Parkinson’s is disrupted sleep. During recent group discussions I learned that at least half of the group members wake at 3 AM and either don’t go back to sleep or take at least a couple hours to fall back to sleep, including me.

So, I think the next time I want to start a group I am going to hold it at 3 AM. It will be a Zoom meeting, and people who are awake can just call in and the group will be there. Of course, I’ll have to put up with some group dynamics that will result from having a meeting that early. Group members are likely to be inconsistent in attendance because that’s just how it is with Parkinson’s - sometimes you sleep good, mostly you don’t. I need to be prepared that group members will be cranky - I know I’m a bit crusty when I wake up in the middle of the night. There will probably be a lot of yawning. A group member or two might fall asleep during the group. I guess what I’m trying to say is it will be just like my other Support Groups!