Do You Like Being Old?
 

Do You Like Being Old? Author Unknown

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 rear. And often I am taken aback by that old person
that lives in my mirror, 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 avant-garde on my patio. I am entitled to
overeat, 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 a.m, and sleep until noon?

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the
40s, 50s, 60s, 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 bikini
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 a 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
turn 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. I
can say "no" and mean it. I can say "yes" and mean it.

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. :1: