[kcb]

I know many of you are younger than I am. But as we each achieve a new stage or decade of our lives, my experience has been that, each one is better than the last.

My college roommate sent this to me. It has a great message and I thought I'd share it here.

I'm not OLD old yet, but I'm very happy with where I am in my life. My mom is TOTALLY at this place in her life and it's awesome. I'm following behind her, now!

This message is great!

I hope you enjoy it!

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 sometimes 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 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.

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, 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. (If I feel like it)

[Swattie's Wife]

That was a great piece to read. I have found that for myself I know who I am and what I want. I think it's because of my "age". I cried when I turned 30 (back then it was 29 + 1) and now it's like I'm 40 (with an "ugh" LOL). But after seeing all the drama that "younger" people have I'm happy with my age. And yes, I like where I am at now. I know I couldn't have said that when I was 22.

[kcb]

They say today's 40 is yesterday's 30. 50 is yesterday's 40; etc. etc.

But Age is good.

As someone told me when I reached my 30th birthday, a little sad, as youthful years seemed to be fading away, "Age is MUCH better than the alternative!"

I decided right then, that that was a very good point! So, celebrate life with each passing year!

Each year is truly a gift!