Hello, all!

**Gundwane** · 11-28-2008, 04:38 AM

Originally Posted by Stormraaf

Nice to see it's not only procrastinating computer science students in front of their computers at this hour.

Raaf, let me put it this way - not my original scrivenings, but whoever wrote this, hit the nail right on the head:

OLD AGE, I’VE 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 agonise over these 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 in my garden on my patio.

“I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant!”

I have seen too many dear friends leave the world too soon before they understand the great freedom that comes with ageing. Whose business is it if I choose to read, or play on the computer until 4.00 a.m. and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those beautiful old tunes of the 50’s and 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 do so, 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, of when a child suffers, or even when somebody’s beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts is 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 grey, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves in 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 any more. 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!!

MAY FRIENDSHIPS NEVER COME APART, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART! MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A RAINBOW OF SMILES ON YOUR FACE AND IN YOUR HEART FOREVER AND EVER!

**Saksenland** · 12-01-2008, 12:10 PM

Baie Welkom

**Absinthe** · 12-01-2008, 12:13 PM

Welkom!

**Arrow Cross** · 12-01-2008, 01:16 PM

Wonderful, another much-needed perspective to the forum. There are very few in your age who use computers...and even post with such a sharp wit. Salutations.
Age is indeed a great power, one can never have enough time for gathering more knowledge and experiences, however those who spend the currency called 'life' unwisely may easily find themselves on a child's level.

The world has changed a lot in the last century, and among its few positives is that more and more of the elderly will become open for technology, as they are raised themselves in enviroments heavily influenced by it.
I have great hopes for it, and I also hope that technology will be able to expand this ridiculously short human lifespan as it progresses. Those scientists better work on this, instead of their egalitarian propaganda.

Enjoy your presence, you are most welcome here.