As a senior citizen I can tell you that depression isn't any easier to deal with as you get older. I'm sure that must also be true for most mental health problems. The mere fact of advancing age sometimes causes me a great deal of sadness. This past week I also felt a lot of anger due to my having to let go of some of the things I love to do.
For many years I have been an avid gardener. I loved growing roses, perennials, annuals and even some vegetables now and then. We have a big yard and I had many large flower beds. During the growing season you usually found me outside digging in the dirt planting flowers or pulling weeds. I dug the flower beds, hauled rocks to build the borders for the beds and hauled the bags of mulch. It has been one of my favorite hobbies through the years.
However, the past few years it has been more and more difficult for me to do all of the necessary work to keep my gardens looking nice. This year because of all the rain, the weeds in some areas were soon taller than I am. Last week one of my neighbors complained. So, my husband and I worked all weekend and we totally eliminated two large flower beds. My feet are still sore from digging! I plan to do the same with some of the remaining flower beds. My gardening hobby will have to be limited, but I will still enjoy it.
Senior citizens have to deal with a lot of acceptance when it comes to their continually decreasing physical abilities. Even with regular exercise and good health habits we all get older and dealing with it can be depressing at times. It's a good thing there are some perks to being a senior too. Watching my grandson grow five inches in one year can be even more fascinating than growing plants. Hearing my one year old granddaughter call me Nana cheers me up in no time.
One of my prized flower beds just a few years ago.
