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, or 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 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 all different shades, even 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. 

 
So, to answer your question, I like getting 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.

AND TO ALL MY FRIENDS - - - - - - -I TIP MY HAT TO
YOU. Today, I wish you a day of Ordinary Miracles.