Old age is a gift. Not everyone is that lucky to live in a country where retirement help, Social Security, has been arranged by government. In addition, many people have the security of an additional private annuity and/or have other investments that take money worries off their minds, for the most part. Let's hear what some old folks have said about old age. An unidentified lady made the following comments when a young person asked her what old age was like:
"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. Sometimes, I am taken aback by the old person in my mirror who looks a lot like my mother, but I don't agonize very long.
"I would never change my amazing friends, my wonderful life and my loving family for less gray hair or flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind and less critical of myself. I've become my own best friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed. I am entitled to overeat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave the world too soon, before the 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 walk the beach in a swimsuit that is stretched over a bulging body and will dive in with abandon despite the pitying glances of the jet set. They, too, will get old.
"I know I'm sometimes forgetful, but some of life is just as well forgotten. I will eventually remember the important things. My heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one or when a child suffers. Broken hearts give us strength, understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile, and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
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"I am blessed to live long enough to have gray hair and to have youthful laughs etched into deep grooves on my face. You can be more positive and care less about what people think. I don't question myself; I've earned the right to be wrong. I like being old; it has set me free. While I'm still here, I won't waste time lamenting what could have been or what will be. I shall eat desert every day."
Some unidentified famous people comments:
"I don't feel old. I don't feel anything until noon and then it's time for my nap."
You know you're old when your wife says, "Let's go upstairs and make love." And you answer, "Honey, I can't do both."
You don't care where your wife goes, just as long as you don't have to go along.
It takes longer to rest than it did to get tired.
At her age, flowers scare her.
Bernie Hughes, Ed.D, is a retired educator who resides in Superior. He can be reached at bernie3024@centurytel.net .
