[AT] Old Age & our Hobby

[jfgrant]

The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was a 
little taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old, that's for sure. 
Upon seeing my reaction, he was immediately embarrassed, but I explained 
that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let him 
know.


Old Age, I decided, 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 avante 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 a.m, and sleep until noon?

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes most of the 50' & some of 
the 60'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 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, 
Grown closer to God.  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.

             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.



Author Unknown