Kimberly, give yourself permission to rest when you need it. If you have to stay in one day have them share their pictures when they come back. I know when I worry about the what ifs it takes away the joy of the moment.
Hugs.

Oh sweetie you won't embarrass them. Do allow yourself to rest and if you feel like staying in one day give yourself that much needed break. Your husband will understand. You are just like me I'm always worried what people will think.

Where are you off to out west? I live in Utah and its been really hot here for June. Heat makes my RA worse due to swelling. It's been up to 99 so far :(.

Good shoes are a must! My niece is a dental assistant and has me hooked on TOMS shoes. They are amazingly comfy! They are too casual for me at work but I wear them everywhere else.

Be kind to yourself and only so what you can! I hope your vacation is wonderful!

Xoxo MLC.

Just relax and enjoy what you can as you can. Have a wonderful time. Trish

I understand your anxiety. Travel takes a lot out of us even if we are having a good time. Have u discuss the anxiety with your family and your concerns of holding them back? They might need to know how u feel. They may surprise you and help you.

Take breaks part of the day. Take some maps...relax by the pool. Take some reading material....a good book for when they are of doing something else.

It is your vacation to and you deserve to enjoy it....

I learned the hard way to not try to keep up with my husband. He's big muscular and athletic. I would love to have his strength for one week.... but I've actually gotten hurt trying to keep up with him.

Oh...I'm planning on going to see my daughter who lives 1500 miles away and have some of the same concerns. She lives in a big city where they walk everywhere.S he is 25 and had not lived with me since the RA diag. She really does not know my day to day life....

We will see how it goes.... but i may not be able to do all that walking....

I totally get where you're coming from! On Saturday I'm getting on a plane and flying across the country to northern CA to visit with my mother and sister. I haven't been out there in five years and I have a lot less energy and a lot more pain these days. While I'm looking forward to seeing them, I'm also worried about how I'm going to deal with everything. I haven't really told them much about how this disease affects me. When I travel with my husband and son they understand and have no problem with my afternoon naps. I can't help but think that my mother and sister won't "get it" or worse try to tell me how to fix it and irritate me! Then on top of that, I know this trip is going to wear me out and I have to go right back to work when I get home. : (

Good luck Kimberly. I hope your trip is a good one, but I can really relate to your concerns. Isn't it sad how this disease manages to infiltrate every single part of our lives? Even a vacation becomes stressful.

Have fun and rest when you need to. Enjoy yourself and the family.

Peace of mind to you

Bluedogs2

Kimberly, I know how you are feeling. We are planning a 2 week vacation on the coast with family coming from all over. Most of the family has no idea how bad things have gotten. I too am afraid of embarrassing them. I plan to keep a book with me at all times so that I can find a corner to rest when I need. I know there will be activities that will be hard on me (like deep sea fishing), so I will not be joining on those. That will be the times that I get extra rest and quiet time. As much as I love my family, I need breaks from them. Someone is always taking pictures so I will still be able to enjoy those. I know that they want to go to the zoo in Portland. With the heat and all of the walking, I will have to opt out of that adventure. It's really a bummer because my grand kids love the animals and I would enjoy watching them see them. It all boils down to making good choices on which activities to participate in. Rest when you can, and just give yourself permission to take care of yourself first. I hope you have a most wonderful time. God Bless!

Thanx everyone for the encouragement I know your all right. It's not like my family won't understand they are great and they know how it is for me.i kno I could rest while they go but I don't want to I want to do everything they do. In the past even with RA I would push myself hard everyday determined to conquer hikes ect but this time my hips are so bad I don't think they will tolerate it. Just bumsd about it. Thanks again tho. My grandmother always used to say" Que. Sera Sera" what will be will be.

RA Sally. Thanks your right I am very grateful for many things. I won't be able to take a chair with me becuz due to cost we had to rent a car instead of an SUV. And with all the luggage it won't fit but I hope that may be glacier or Rushmore will have one I can use.

Hi Kimberley, I totally understand your worries/anxieties, they are understandable. I agree with RAsally's suggestion that you should honor and release them. In my mind, that means don't try to make yourself "wrong" by feeling this way - honor yourself and value yourself enough to know that these feelings are perfectly normal! We can surely all relate here. : )

I know that anytime an activity like this comes up, it does "re-open" the grief of what RA has done to me - but once I take some time to kind of get quiet and "center" myself and to my mental gratitude check-off list, I do start to feel better.

Rest as much as you can, and enjoy fully the fun stuff that you CAN do, I know you will make lots of wonderful memories on this trip! : )

Go have fun and rest when you need to. Make wonderful memories and eat well.

Mama and Bluedogs2

Kimberley, I don't know your history, but perhaps if you've been feeling pain a lot, you can make a quick trip to your rheum.doctor and get a cortisone injection - if not in the hip, maybe a kenalog in the rear for general all over aches?

If not that, then take a prednisone pack with you, which might be the ticket to get your RA to stop while you are gone. Your doctor will definitely have some temporary advice!

As others have said you are going to have to pace yourself, rest, and allow them to go off sometimes while you stay behind. It's best if you don't overdue and not make them feel like they have to do only what you can. I've found that the extra rest works for me while the extras they can do works well for them. Better you do some than overdue and be stuck in bed the rest of the trip. It's different now but it's still doable with adjustments.