I can’t think of a better way to self-distance than to sit and dig holes in the quiet, with my own thoughts. Gardening gives your mind a break from concentrating, it gives your hands something to do, it gives you a separate task to think about and plan and best of all…it gets you OFF of social media. It’s incredibly therapeutic!
As a kid, growing up in the Midwest, gardening always seemed like a lot of work; definitely too much work for me. It was something my grandmother did and something my mother enjoyed but I always wondered why digging in the dirt and moving things around was considered fun. It only took that first taste of each year’s tomato crop to remind me to appreciate the hours that my elders spent ‘playing’ in the dirt.
I don’t think my grandmother or even my mother gave working in the garden much thought. But time passes and as I’ve become both a mother and grandmother I guess my definition of fun has changed, as well. While there doesn’t seem to be cure for the current pandemic plaguing our world the idea of a gardening pandemic doesn’t sound all that bad to me.
With the kids home schooling and parents working remotely, families, today, are discovering that gardening gives cooped-up kids something to do, builds their self-esteem and brings variety to a ‘stay at home’ lifestyle. Early exposure to dirt has been linked to all kinds of long-term health benefits, from reducing allergies to autoimmune diseases.
For us older adults, gardening can burn calories, reduce anxiety, contribute to a restful nights’ sleep, improve strength, save us a little money and keep us busy canning, freezing, dehydrating, and pickling while we practice that ‘social-distancing’ that seems to come so naturally as we age. Besides, it just feels good to eat something that you grew yourself.
As a kid, growing up in the Midwest, gardening always seemed like a lot of work; definitely too much work for me. It was something my grandmother did and something my mother enjoyed but I always wondered why digging in the dirt and moving things around was considered fun. It only took that first taste of each year’s tomato crop to remind me to appreciate the hours that my elders spent ‘playing’ in the dirt.
I don’t think my grandmother or even my mother gave working in the garden much thought. But time passes and as I’ve become both a mother and grandmother I guess my definition of fun has changed, as well. While there doesn’t seem to be cure for the current pandemic plaguing our world the idea of a gardening pandemic doesn’t sound all that bad to me.
With the kids home schooling and parents working remotely, families, today, are discovering that gardening gives cooped-up kids something to do, builds their self-esteem and brings variety to a ‘stay at home’ lifestyle. Early exposure to dirt has been linked to all kinds of long-term health benefits, from reducing allergies to autoimmune diseases.
For us older adults, gardening can burn calories, reduce anxiety, contribute to a restful nights’ sleep, improve strength, save us a little money and keep us busy canning, freezing, dehydrating, and pickling while we practice that ‘social-distancing’ that seems to come so naturally as we age. Besides, it just feels good to eat something that you grew yourself.