Cagey

Don't remember seeing this posted previously. Enjoy



"Good friends are like quilts-they age with you, yet never lose their warmth."

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, or sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those
wonderful tunes of the 50s, 60s & 70s, 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, eventually, I 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).