CHAPTER 4, PAGE 19

WEAR A GRIN

WHEN YOUR AXLE IS A-DRAGGIN

AND YOUR TIRES ARE WEARIN' THIN

THEN BIRTHDAYS ARE NOT SOMETHING

YOU WELCOME WITH A GRIN

AND I'M SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE,

ALTHOUGH IT'S SAD BUT TRUE,

FATHER TIME AND MOTHER NATURE

SURE CAN MAKE IT TOUGH FOR YOU.

I'LL ADMIT I'M GETTING MILDEWED

AND MY CARBURETOR'S BUSTED

MY CHASSIS'S CRACKED AND DENTED,

AND MY SPARK PLUGS ALL ARE RUSTED.

BUT WHAT'S THE USE OF GRIPING

BECAUSE YOU'VE STRIPPED YOUR GEARS,

YOU CAN'T EXPECT TO FEEL LIKE TWENTY

WHEN YOU'VE LIVED OVER SIXTY YEARS.

THERE IS ONE CONSOLATION

THAT DRIES AWAY MY TEARS~

FATHER TIME IS AFTER EVERYONE

AS THEY TRAVEL THROUGH THE YEARS.

AND ALL THE NICEST FOLKS I KNOW,

INCLUDING FOLKS LIKE YOU,

KEEP RIGHT ON HAVING BIRTHDAYS

AND GROWING OLDER TOO.

BUT SOME FOLKS JUST GROW OLDER,

BUT OF YOU THAT ISN'T TRUE,

FOR EVERY TIME YOU ADD A YEAR

YOU GROW MUCH NICER TOO

Helen Steiner Rice

GOOD MORNING!

Today is my sisters’ birthdays ! They were born on the same day – two years apart and they are both younger than I am. I found the cute poem above and sent it to them for their birthday and thought you might enjoy it too !

Thought for today (from an e-mail I received)

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 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 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.

Author Unknown

May today be a day of ordinary miracles

I love you all !

ma

 

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