And no, not ever !!!!
I am not calling anyone old here! This is just so beautiful,Sometime one comes through that says it all!




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 her know.

Old Age, I decided, is a gift.

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. 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.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 am,
and sleep until noon?

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.

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 50'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.

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 it and mean it.

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.

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.

Today, I wish you a day of ordinary miracles.

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




Love and hugs
Gabriel

Thanks for sharing that Gabriel.

Here's one for you:

TO THE WONDERFUL WOMEN I KNOW

When I was little, I used to believe
in the concept of one best friend,
and then I started to become a woman.
And then I found out that if you allow your heart
to open up, God would show you the best in many friends.

One friend is needed when you're
going through things with your man.

Another friend is needed when you're
going through things with your mom.

Another when you want to shop,
share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be.

One friend will say let's pray together, another
let's cry together, another let's fight together,
another let's walk away together.

One friend will meet your spiritual needs,
another your shoe fetish,
another your love for movies,
another will be with you in your season of confusion,
another will be your clarifier,
another the wind beneath your wings.

But whatever their assignment in your life,
on whatever the occasion, on whatever the day,
or wherever you need them to meet you with their gym
shoes on and hair pulled back, or to hold you back from
making a complete fool of yourself ...
those are your best friends.

It may all be wrapped up in one woman,
but for many it's wrapped up in several...
one from 7th grade, one from high school, several
from the college years, a couple from old jobs,
several from church, one from POWER SURGE,
on some days your mother, on some days your neighbor,
on others your sisters, and on some days your daughters.

So whether they've been there 20 minutes or 20 years,
Pass this on to the women that God has placed in your life
to make a difference.

Wow, I feel so privileged to know you, my Power-Surge sisters...

Thanks for this beautiful stuff...

JJ

Thanks for the lovely inspirationals above! I will refer back to them whenever I'm having one of 'those days'.