feeling good about being older and being in the "I DON'T WANNA CLUB.I received this today in an email, thought about this posting that I saw last night. Enjoy the read...


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. I would
never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, and my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter
belly. As I've aged, I've become most 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 a
treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

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, wish 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…
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 (in this system of things anyway), but while I am still here I will not
waste time lamenting about what could have been or worrying about what will be. I shall eat
dessert every single day (If I feel like it).

MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART!

MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A RAINBOW OF SMILES ON YOUR FACE AND IN YOUR HEART FOREVER AND EVER!

FRIENDS FOREVER!