Borrowed from Third Time Lucky Merle

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 kinder to myself, and less critical of myself.
I've become my 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 it looks so avante garde on my patio.
I am entitled to a treat, to be messyand to be extravagant.
I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon;
before theyunderstood 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 tunesof the 60s and 70s, 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 or sagging 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 gives 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 to 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 the 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'm here,I will not waste time lamenting what could have been,
or worrying what will be.
And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it.)
May our friendship never come apart, especially when it is straight from the heart><><><>