Playing catch up

Confession, I have been told, is good for the soul. I certainly hope so…

Life has been interesting, here at RM Ranch, for a while now. That’s “interesting” in the “may you live in interesting times” sense, by the way*.  Here are some things that have happened or that continue, though somewhat abated.

• She For Whom We Do All, the delightful Mrs. RM, has been struggling with depression for several years. Her father’s death in the recent past constituted a major hit to her efforts to deal with her diagnosis.
• I was finally forced to recognize my own struggle with depression.
• The result of years of depression has been that both of us have huge holes in our memories re: the last few years. We both know there is “stuff” missing and are more than a little curious to know what it is (I doubt Scotland ever contacted me, saying the country would declare its absolute independence if only I would agree to be King of the Scots, but you never can tell. I keep looking for positive signs).
• Other results: we had to back off on the whole “urban homestead” thing quite a bit. Neither of us had the energy to do all the things that needed to be done. It wasn’t fair to the animals, so we sent them all to good homes. Last year, I didn’t even plant a garden.
• My writing was “hit-and-miss” for quite a while.

Now, there are positive things going on

• Mrs. RM has found a pharmaceutical regimen that works for her. It’s good to see her up and about and enjoying life, once again.
• I have found that my depression responds amazingly well to activity. The struggle, of course, is that depression can render you disinclined to do the thing that will make you feel better, but I am learning. Even if I have to go on antidepressants in the future, I’m through letting this thing rule and ruin my life.
• The spring garden is a go for this year! Woo-hoo!
• I am making progress on projects that had stalled for far too long. It’s good to be active. I already feel younger.
• As I alluded to recently, I am writing, again. I missed several days postings because of unavoidable life events, but that’s okay. There were other things we had to attend to (like a pregnant friend who occasionally needs support or Mrs. RM taking an unexpected trip to the ER for what turned out to be largely a non-issue), but they aren’t the life-strangling things that depression can be.

If you, too, struggle with depression, I encourage you to not give up. While it can take a while to find what works for you, there are things that can make it better. The start is to recognize your struggle.

Gotta go. There are words to write for the ages (yeah, right) and raised beds to be prepared.

Note: As an aside, this “ancient Chinese curse” is of dubious origins, but I don’t care