OLD AGE - A GIFT

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 maybe not my body, but I never really despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the bulging belly. God gave me what I have, and who am I to defy God?, I am happy with all he has endowed me with, and happy to go about my life enjoying what I encounter along the way, and believe me , I enjoy!!
I am never taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror , I just continue have chat with him in the mornings, he always welcomes me with a smile.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family, or my golf clubs, 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 staying up all night playing solitaire or Chess on the computer, I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant, and to be a party to free love without the family interfering. ( I love being old)


I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. With age comes enlightenment, and only then we are free to enjoy the fruits of life with complete abandonment.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? (well at least until I am required on the first tee.)

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 pair of togs that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, ( thankfully I haven't chose to do so for many a year) despite the pitying glances from the jet set .
They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. ( now now, control yourself, tis not all the time...yet!!) But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things....( like the smiles that warm my heart, and the odd wink that gets the blood racing )

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. ( broken a few too I suspect) 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 grey, 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 . I have wanted so many times to put in that youthful rinse, but what the heck, I am a fine example of "many a fine tune is played on an old fiddle"...well, I think so anyway.

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 many times I am wrong these days)

So, 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......( no I won't, my diabetes will not allow me too anymore)

AUTHOR UNKNOWN