Old Age

This post has nothing to do with baking and it's meant for those aged 50 and above. Two things that you can do now:

1- close your browser & missed the most important lessons in life

2- read on to laugh your head off, then when you're composed, think what you want in life.

No matter how young you are, it can only be good for you to ponder on these words because your age will always go up - only rain comes down - everything else goes up eg. fuel, ERP, food prices, etc. The list goes on.....

So do not be offended, age will catch up on you sooner than you think. It is our attitude towards life and how we handle it that counts! Cheers!!

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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 buyingthat 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, 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)