This year, I celebrated a milestone birthday. You know, one that ends in zero. Which means I’m entering into another decade of life. As such, a few things are painfully obvious. For one, I realize I have more days behind me than ahead. And secondly, it’s important to look around and be grateful for what I do have.

Naturally, I’m thankful to have my health. As society struggles through another year of the pandemic, I’m aware not everyone my age has been so lucky. I’m also thankful to have my garden. Gardening has given me someplace to hide from the virus as well as something to occupy my time during periods of isolation.

Reasons I’m Thankful

Here are 10 less serious reasons why I’m thankful to enjoy gardening at my age:

1. Now that I’ve reached this milestone birthday, I don’t have gardening goals. I have a gardening bucket list. It just sounds so much cooler, don’t you think?
2. When I present my grown children with a basket full of fresh produce from the garden, I can tell them that I had to walk uphill, both ways in a snowstorm, to harvest the veggies.
3. At my age, the neighbors won’t bat an eye if they see me repurposing old medical equipment for garden use. Imagine propping up a walker as a tomato cage or mixing small amounts of fertilizer in a bed pan.
4. As gardeners age, we realize picking pole beans is so much easier on the back than stooping over to harvest bush beans. So from now on, I’m trellising all my garden plants – not just the vining ones.
5. Memory loss can be a devastating part of the aging process, especially when we begin to forget names. Thankfully, I need not worry about this. Mine is monogrammed on my garden apron.
6. Forget raised beds, I’m switching to an elevated garden. Now that I’m a senior gardener, getting down on my hands and knees to sow seeds and transplant seedlings seems a bit risky. After all, I don’t want to get too used to being in dirt. 
7. Now that I can take advantage of senior discounts, I can save money on seeds, plants and gardening supplies. I haven’t had this much fun whipping out my I.D since I turned 21.
8. When swapping gardening advice with fellow gardeners, I can start all my stories with “Back in the day…,” or “I remember when…”
9. I no longer have to feel embarrassed about wearing old clothes when working in the garden. Especially since all my old clothes are now back in style.
10. Best of all, when deer are in the garden, I have earned the right to wave a cane and yell, “Get out of my garden, you scoundrels.”