Spring is here and with it come thoughts of gardening. We have had a small garden almost every year for as long as I can remember. It used to be a joint project, my husband helped prep the soil, plant and harvest. As his PD symptoms progressed it became more and more difficult for him to participate until last year it was all mine. It was a lot of work and, while I enjoy the fresh vegetables, was it really worth it? How would I spend my summer days if I didn’t have to cultivate, weed, and water?

As I stop and think about it, I realize that some of the things I am doing come from a sense of obligation, a “we have always done that” or “my friends do it” or “it’s good for me to stay busy”. If I plant a garden, I have to do the work whether I like it or not and the truth is that I really don’t like it that much. There are other activities that I could fill that time with and would like a lot better. Why keep doing something just because I always have when I could be choosing to do something new and more fulfilling?

Personal self-care matters and sometimes that means making decisions for your Person with Parkinson’s, but more importantly it means making decisions for yourself. As I move forward, I am going to try to stop making choices on what we have done in the past and look honestly at what I can do in the future. I will use realistic expectations of my own abilities and consciously create a home where both of us can meet our own needs in ways that bring us pleasure. Now, what do we do with those garden boxes out back?