Nov
I am blessed to have some amazing friends in my life for which I celebrate my good fortune frequently. After a recent birthday breakfast get together for one of my high school gal pals, I received the following verse in the mail from my dear friend Linda (one of the high school pals in the photo below) thought this is worth sharing with you.
“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 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 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’s & 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.
my husband Allan died June 2005
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 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.
My friend Sheila died of cancer Nov 9th, age 55
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 earned the right to be wrong.
My Amazing Girlfriends
So, to answer your question, I like being older. 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 east dessert every single day if I feel like it.”
*The amazing women in the photo have been friends over 35 years, now that’s something to be grateful for and truly a circle of strength.
Tags: friendship, girlfriends
