I received the below old age story today in an email and realized, due to my current age, how much more I appreciated this unknown author's thoughts then when I first started seeing it circulating the Internet years ago. I feel that my own health issues, recent family illness, and the death of my father (both parents gone now) has probably had a lot to do with my current insight and appreciation of being older.
I may not look my age (based on many people saying this to me and whatever that truly means), however I do what I can to take care of myself. Sure, I do color my hair but it has turned gray, I have wrinkles that I call my life's battle scars, and I have more weight on me then I have ever had in my life, other then being pregnant, yet I have learned that there are so many more important things to occupy my mind then dwelling on how others think about me or the bygone days of my youth.
There may be those that scoff at my senior imperfections but I silently pray they live long enough to regret those thoughts or words hastily spoken, as well as live long enough to truly understand the words below as I do.
I feel that I've earned every one of my wrinkles which, to me, represent a story of my life and I am still making memories at my current sixty-four young years. Do I feel I am "old" at this age? No way! :)
A great attitude is important. It means everything to having a great life no matter what you do in it. No matter how many lemons life gives you, keep making lemonade or as I say to family and friends - turn a negative into a positive.
Another favorite thing I've been saying for over twenty-five years is: I am not forgetful, I just have more to remember because I am living an active and interesting life. I call it mental programming and it sure sounds so much better then having someone make you feel you are senile just because you have more files in that mental attic and it just might take a little longer digging through those files to find what you want. ;)
Here is the email I received.
-------Old Age is a Gift
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 butt. 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 am, and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60's, and if I, at the same time if I wish, I will 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
Yes, 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!
----------End (Author Unknown)
Picture: This is me; still making memories this past fall on a road trip with my husband.
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