If you were to ask me how I feel about growing old, this would be my response.
I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, and my loving family
for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become kinder 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 50's,
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 bulgingbody, 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).
MAY OUR 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! FRIENDS FOREVER!
Please note: A good friend in New Mexico sent this to me and it is good to know that some of my friends still remember me after 9 years have passed. I am a little different from some of you because I look upon the neighborhood link as a real place with real neighbors I can call friends. By posting here I have been able to make the acquaintances of a few who I am now able to call my friends. I know I may have upset some who post here but I am not perfect but still feel the anguish of a friend lost. Friendship is priceless....strive to never lose a friend.
