They did something once that slurred my speech, and I thought, "Oh, man, you're messing with my brain. It's freaking me out."

I don't have any affirmations, I don't have any of that stuff. My natural state is to look at things as possibilities and as opportunities.

If one of my kids reads a book for school and I can have a conversation with her about the book and I sense that she gets what the book is about, then it doesn't really matter to me if she gets an A on the paper.

To be brutally honest, for much of that time, I was the only person in the world with Parkinson's. Of course, I mean that in the abstract. I had become acutely aware of people around me who appears to have the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, but as long as they didn't identify with me, I was in no rush to identify with them. My situation allowed, if not complete denial, at least a thick padding of insulation.

In fact, Parkinson's has made me a better person. A better husband, father and overall human being.

So what I say about Tracy is this: Tracy's big challenge is not having a Parkinson's patient for a husband. It's having me for a husband. I happen to be a Parkinson's patient.

You know what's cool? My kids think I'm ordinary.