Do I Like Getting Old?

I recieved this in an email last year and thought I'd share it with you too. There's alot of wisdom in it that I've learned to apply to my own life.

Do I Like Getting Old?

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life,
nor 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,
for not making my bed,
nor 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 I 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?
Broken hearts are what give us strength, understanding and compassion.
A heart never broken is pristine and sterile.
It will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to see 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 will eat dessert every single day if I feel like it.




So be you, be happy and be free.