'Old Age', I've 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 sometimes 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 mother!), 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, or to an occasional
extravagance.

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's & 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, ......
if they play their cards right!

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, I like being old. It has set me free.
I am getting use to the person I am
becoming. I am not going to live forever,
but while I am still here, I will not
waste time lamenting over what could
have been, or worrying about what will be.

And .....
I shall eat dessert every single day.
(If I feel like it!)

MAY FRIENDSHIPS NEVER COME APART ~~

ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART!

MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A RAINBOW OF SMILES ON YOUR FACE ~~

AND .... IN YOUR HEART ~~~
FOREVER AND EVER!