What It's Like to Get Old

WHAT IT'S LIKE TO GET OLD

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 him 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, 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 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 i s 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.