M
Mousebaby
Guest
>>The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was
>>taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my
>>reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an
>>interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let her know.
>>
>>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
>>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, 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)
>>taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my
>>reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an
>>interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let her know.
>>
>>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
>>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, 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)
