Perspectives on Aging

Now that my oldies have passed on, I forget that the title of this blog is, "Living with the Oldies." The oldie I live with is me. The husband may be older in years but he's much younger in spirit. When his band plays, I am a ball of fire at first and then I can barely stay awake for the next sets.
My mom shared this with me. We agree it is fitting. I wish I could credit the author but I have no clue.

Getting Old 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 (who looks like my mother!) but I don't agonize over those things for long.
>> I would never trade my amazing friends, or 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 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; we've even earned the right to be wrong.
>> 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.)

With apologies to the author, I changed a couple of lines. I also will not eat dessert every single day.