Dessert....Every Day!

My Beaumont friend sent me this post a few weeks ago. He sends me things often, thinking I may need a 'blog filler' at times. And, sure 'nuff, I do!! There are days that nothing in particular is going on and I can't think of anything in particular to write about.

Today, "Old Age, A Gift" is just what I needed. When it was sent, it had no author credited so I attempted to track him/her by googling....Old Age, A Gift. I found the writing but not the author.

I'm pretty sure it's a woman because of things mentioned. Men don't often agonize over a sagging butt!

But, thank you, whoever wrote this. It is perfect for today!

I have decided that 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 50's,

and if I, at the same time,wish to weep over a lost love.

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 then 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.

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!