Sunday is Sad-Day

I used to enjoy Sundays as time spent with family.  I come from a big Italian family that is exactly what you imagine. We cook and bake. We do the seven fishes on Christmas Eve before midnight mass. Sauce on Sundays (that we sometimes call “Gravy”). Traditions. When we didn’t have big get-togethers, I still spent a lot of time with family on Sunday. My Grandma would go shopping after church, so I would get to her house a little early and hangout with Gramps. We would read the Sunday paper on the patio and just talk about whatever. Then Grandma would come home and we would hang out some more. Grandma loved to cook and pasta e fagioli was her specialty and my favorite  -total comfort food. She would make VATS of it! She said it was so I would have enough to take home! How great is that? I knew those days would end eventually, but in my mind it all ended too soon. Now I am grateful we shared that time because I do have happy memories.  However, I find that Sundays are the days I miss them all the most – my Dad and grandparents. Sunday has become “Sad-day.” Not every Sunday, just sometimes. I definitely have some lazy, quiet Sundays that I do enjoy, but there are those hard moments.

Sadness is normal. It’s not chronic or depression. It’s fleeting. I can get up, do what I need to do and keep moving. I can shake it off. Depression is more debilitating and makes it harder to get through the day. Caregiving has so many demands and it is so difficult watching your loved one deal with health issues. Unfortunately, caregiving and depression often go hand-in-hand. If you are feeling down and you just can’t shake it; if it’s impacting your day-to-day functioning, where its hard to get out of bed and you feel lethargic, exhausted all the time, and emotionally drained, please seek help.  Don’t wait. It took me a long  time to seek out a psychiatrist, and when I did, I learned that I needed anti-depressants for a little while. It didn’t mean I would be on medication forever (which is why I resisted going for help and it took a long time to reach out), but rather, a short term solution to help me get me get in control of my emotions, get stable, and feeling like myself again. I don’t know why I waited so long to do it. I now know the difference between sadness and depression. Do a self-check and ask yourself, “how am I feeling?” Am I sad? Am I numb? Am I lazy or am I lethargic? If you have any concerns, seek out the help of a doctor or therapist for yourself. Don’t suffer. Don’t get stuck, get moving to get yourself on the road to a better place.

Try to make your Sundays “Sunny”. I am sure that reads corny, but I live in FL, the Sunshine state and it’s catchy to me! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!