Old Age Is A Gift Don't Miss this tune.... turn.sound on !! _OT

[Guest guest]

This is one of my favorite songs,

just thought I would share

it with all of you....brings

back memories...even

though I know most of

you are not " remembering

when."....you're too young!

I love Alan ....tell me

if you like it...if you do

send it on to your

friends....

I love this piece. It sure brings things into perspective.

Enjoy!

Subject: Old Age Is A Gift

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 sometimes 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 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 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.