Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Geezer(ette) Pride

Some email forwards are actually worth the time it takes to read them......

"The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let her 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 (who looks like my mother!), 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 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. 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. (If I feel like it.)"

Excellently put.

Besides, we are not getting old. we are maturing. Like a fine wine. Thats my story anyway.

Yep! Paula nothing else left to be said!

Will you marry me????

Hey Mark! I do believe that's a first for this forum! No wait I think maybe yota has proposed to some guy that's a member

Beautifully written!
With my 65th on 12/24 I find myself, like you, at peace.
SteveB

WOW! Wisdom at it finest. I too wonder who that old person is looking back at me in the mirror. I'm now close to 50 and I recently realized that I'm way over half way there. 95% of what we worry and fret about will never come about and the 5% that does was beyond our control anyway. I find myself almost everyday telling some poor unforunate young(er) person not to waste the time they have left. We are responsible for our own unhappiness or happiness...and with that that thought being said...off to Hooters!

Good thread.

Another thing that putting on some years and having kids (including losing our first when he was 17 months old, just 6 weeks before his sister was born) has taught me is that life is not the place to look for justice or fairness but if you are careful and patient you can find enough beauty and joy to almost make up for that.

Also, having been married to the same wonderful woman for over twenty years teaches one how to accept that one is wrong and move on without dwelling on it. There will always be other opportunities to be wrong in the near future.

A 65 year old (that's 10 more than me) friend at work put it rather succinctly...

I've felt a lot of pain and decided I don't like it.
I no longer have anything to prove to anyone.
Life is a lot easier since I discovered this.

OMG! I absolutely LOVE "channel my inner crone". That is truely wisdom worth passing on. You have made my day! I have to go copy and paste now.........

As my father used to say about getting older: "it sure beats the alternative".

Very nicely put Paula, I take my hat off to you..

Paula,
You have a lot to be proud of. You've overcome many obstacles
on the road of life, and have come out with the shiney side up!
I KNOW you have many friends, and I'm proud to be one of them,
Merry Christmas!
Uncle Charlie

Becky- hey, we're members of the Super Elite Extra Stupendous December Birthday Triumph Geezerette Wonder Babe Club. Is Gina a Geezerette too? Let's all go get some dessert and deepen our laugh lines....

Trainee Geezerette....

I consider myself a yute too you see.

Frankly, having just turned 43 a month or 2 ago (who's counting?), I don't consider myself old JUST YET, so I'll stick to just being a bit more mature than most of the people around me....