Lynne sent this to me from a friend who sent it to her. I don’t know where it originated from, you know how things get passed around on the internet, but I love the message it sends. Some of you may have seen this before, but I wanted to share it with everyone. It pretty much sums up how I feel about life as I get older.
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 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 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).
