:o( I hear ya. I LOVE spending time with my inlaws. They used to live 4 hours from us and that was a heck of a trip. But now they've moved and are 8 hours away. :o( We plan to visit, but we may stop halfway and stay somewhere. Sounds nuts, but if it spares me some agony, we'll do it. I sure hope you get your pain under control again soon!

That's the way it usually goes for me, but I think about the memories and joy I made and know its all worth it.

I tend to look at it a bit differently. The short answer to your question is "yes" - this is how it is when we do something out of the ordinary.

The difference is I don't see that as a reason not to do it. I refuse to stop living my life - I do it and accept that there is a price - often a high price.

I build time into trips and activities to allow for down time to recover. The hardest thing I've done recently was having my 11-year-old granddaughter here for a week in June. We planned something every other day to give me a day in between to rest. We were very active - day trips to DC and to Williamsburg, a two-hour train trip, a two-hour car trip, and the last day she was here we spent the entire day at a Putt-Putt and did golf, bumper boats, and go-karts.

It's not really that it's "not good for the body." It doesn't do any damage - it just hurts like hell.

I have to live my life - it's the only one I get and there are no do-overs. There are ways to manage the pain but I won't get another chance to live.

I hate this texty abbreviation but it fits.

YOLO.

You only live once. As far as we know, anyway. I have a weekly day out to do something fun that I pay for at least 48 hours...but morale is important, sooo....ice, heat, my one measly daily vicodin, and away I go.

Yes, that's the new normal for me but to visit the grandkids (2 days by car) or 2.5 hours plane plus sitting around airport and getting to airport is worth every second of discomfort.

I just TRY to eat right and stretch when I can. pain will be here but I won't have missed their smiles.

They do have some heating pads that go into the power port in car....you may want to check that out. sometimes I'll bring ice packs in the cooler.
Don't miss out!!

I say do it.

You have two options in our lives: a)stay at home, do nothing and suffer mentally and physically or b) do anything and everything you can and suffer physically.

You are going to hurt either way, you might as well be smiling through it

Another thing I will say is travel smart:
I travel a lot and have discovered a few helpers.
-if you are driving, bring along a cooler with a few soft ice packs. Use them for your back, legs, neck, whatever as you go
---on long trips, stop every 2 hours or less and walk, or stretch.
----if flying, bring socks, a blowup neck pillow, so that you can adjust the firmness from time to time, aspirin or anti inflammatory
-----move your legs, ankles arms wrists neck often.

My legs and feet swell up when I sit too long. Especially on planes! My neurologist says it's a side effect of Lyrica and gabapentim. It's very scary and painful, too. The shoes get so tight!

Still, I like to take part in my adult childrens' lives. I lost my eldest son almost 3 years ago, and I hadn't flown to see him in 5 years. I'll never get over the guilt.

Stay close with your children and family, they are our treasures as we age.