By Linda Shaffer
Before I go another paragraph further, it should be noted that if you read this and spend $500 on a new hobby(ies) and get gout, I will not be held responsible. Do not write me with stories of how your new turtle escaped and rotted under a cabinet. Please also keep secret the fact you took up raising snakes and/or lizards or may have a baby alligator in your spare bathtub. You can tell I’m not a fan of the reptile family. However, good for you if you are.
For the past several weeks I have been trying to change my ways. I was in a pattern of widdowness that was doable but not particularly good for me. When Mr. Ss body left the building in January I promised myself six months to figure things out. I spent some of those months watching old movies, drinking boxed white wine and eating Cheetos. While these are not bad things, they are not exactly stimulating. Cheetos and cabernet sauvignon are not listed by USDA as brain food. I binge watched Pitbulls and Parolees until I ran out of shows. It was time for a change.
I gave up Cheetos, cut back on the wine and found new programming. Most importantly, I started writing this column again. I guess you could call this a hobby. It’s something that brings me joy and offers my brain an exercise routine it hasn’t had for awhile. It’s not that I wasn’t busy before, but taking care of someone who is dying is not a hobby. It’s a love affair involving a lot of precise detail. After getting a few Geezer Tribes out to you, I began to feel like there should be more for me to do. That was about the time I was told I would be dragging an oxygen line for the rest of my days. Though I try to think of it as a challenge each day, I don’t think it counts as a hobby but I found something that did.
Bird houses became the new rage in my life. I have been painting bird houses. I already had the paints because I’ve always had a hobby of some sort. Those acrylic paints were the only survivors. They called to me like the sirens. Last year I bought a completed bird house. Mr. S hung it for me. This year it had a family of birds in it. This sort of thing adds fuel to a fire. My daughters were sent in search of bird houses and they delivered. My friend brought me one too. It has been great fun but birdhouse season ends today. I have a felt Christmas stocking to make for my great-granddaughter Violet Kay. Incoming bird houses will be painted later. I’m a very slow sewer of sequined things.
New projects are like bright and shiny objects to a crow for me. I am drawn to them but not all of us are and we need to put some thought to that. Why? Aging can rob you of the desire to do new things because they require work which you may not want to do. Fine. I am still asking you to try a new hobby. If you just can’t do it, take up an old hobby again and give yourself credit for what you’ve done. Either way, it’s better than letting depression invade your life. We are subject to this disease, and it can take a terrible toll on our health. We were raised in a world where those words weren’t spoken. Too bad. Try to think of a healthy, happy brain as the leader of your pack. Hobbies fuel happy people because those people are doing something aside from focusing on their problems.
I don’t want to imagine you without a houseplant or a pet (even reptiles) or a book of Sudoku or Crosswords. I think of you with a crochet hook, or knitting, or volunteering or cooking or writing. I think of you feeding birds and taking care of your garden. A change in routine will help you to have a better day than people without a hobby of some sorts. Whether you collect rocks or Christmas cards, it’s a hobby. It counts.
In a serendipitous way for me, Mr. S’s Readers Digest arrived in the mail with an article which speaks to the importance of hobbies to your health and well-being. I had already decided to write about my bird houses but this article offered so much more. It may not be playing fair, but I am going to ask you to look up the September 2024 issue of Readers Digest and the story, “How Hobbies help (and Heal) Us”. All credit goes to them. Me? I loved this article as I do all things which help me find my way through these days. Yes, I still cheat with Cheetos.
Have a great week my friends.
