I don’t know who wrote this, but thought it was appropriate since I am now enjoying my golden years.  I agree with every word that is written and hope that we can all be a bit more patient and appreciate our aging friends and loved ones?

“As I’ve aged I’ve become kinder to myself and less critical of myself.  I’ve become my own friend.

I have seen too many dear friends and loved ones 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 4:00AM or sleep until noon?  I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60′s and 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, a dear friend, or when a child suffers, or even when a pet passes?  But broken hearts are what give us strength, 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 start 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 gray.

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 the question of getting old, 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 over what could have been or worrying about what will be.  And I shall eat dessert every single day, if I so choose.”

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