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I got this email today…very true lol
Old Age, I decided, is a gift
I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my father!), but I don’t agonize over those things for long..
I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I’ve aged, I’ve become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I’ve become my own friend.
I don’t chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn’t need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.
I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.
Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon ?
I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 & 70’s, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love .. I will.
I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old.
I know I am sometimes forgetful.. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.
Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody’s beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver
As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don’t question myself anymore.. I’ve even earned the right to be wrong.
So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it)
October 29, 2008 |
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trysh, Crafting October 29, 2008 6:07 am
Oh, hooray for you!!! And, from where I sit, also where you are, your words are refreshing and true, and I will celebrate them with you!! You have just made my day!
Saltpye3, Multiple Sclerosis October 29, 2008 8:53 am
I have always been terrified of getting to look like my father but I have noticed in the last few years I’ve started to get the same nose and the same hair growing from my ears. Oh no!!!
Maureen, Painting/Drawing November 2, 2008 8:12 am
What a wonderful thing to share; thank you! This, I will hold dear to my heart as I age. Your words ring true as I know so many friends and family who will never know the joy of old age.
Thank you.
Grandpa Don November 16, 2008 6:43 pm
The web page listed here is an article I wrote for Willard Scot’s book, The Older the Fiddle, The Better the Tune.
Getting old is all that you said … if you have the right attitude.
Visit Te World of Grandpa Don at http://www.plefka.net
Your page will have a link from my What’s New page for the week ending Nov 21, 2008.
I just became a great grandpa!
sjoukes, Women November 17, 2008 6:57 am
Grandpa Don
I have started to read your adoption..quite an impressive blog..will take me a while I think :>))