We had such great plans for gardening this summer—2-4 by 12’ plots, pots in our backyard on a cart that is moved to follow the sun. But life happens, so this year we have decided to be practical and realistic (for a change) and let our two community garden plots go.
Our son, Dan, dislocated his foot a couple of weeks ago, so there went our heavy maintenance, spring yard cleaner, mulcher and garden prepper for the most important part of the garden calendar. I’m in the middle of a humdinger of a flare, so between moving very slowly & gingerly & scratching constantly, I do not venture down two flights of stairs to go outside much.
My husband, Bob, has to fix the several violations on our house or the town will cite & fine us—nothing major, just putting a fence around our second floor porch, repairing the garage doors and repainting the garage. He can only be stretched so thin, a lesson he has yet to learn.
Our alternative to growing our own—taking lovely Saturday road trips with our dogs, Callie & Lily, out to Amish country and buying the fruits of their labor, keeping up with our philosophy of buying local. We did this last year in addition to gardening and filled our freezer with all sorts of fruits, vegetable, free-range meats & eggs (love the mental image of all those eggs rolling around in the fields.) In the evenings we can, dehydrate, and freeze the produce.
But, it’s the decision to give yourself permission to let go, to realize that the physical stamina is not what it used to be, that it’s OK to just say no to yourself and enjoy what you can that helps to age with aplomb.
(c)2011 Kathleen McGuire “Canning on Our 1929 Tappan Stove”
Aging with Aplomb and Not Falling Down 