[StBernard] AGING...ENJOY :)

[Westley Annis]

Don't delete this one

  
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 kinder 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 

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 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, 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).

MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART, 

ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM 

THE HEART!