a gift

Aging, I have 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.
And I am often taken aback by that older person that lives in my mirror
(and happens to look very much like my mother)....
But I don't despair for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends,
my wonderful life or my loving family
for less gray hair or a flatter belly.
As I have aged I have become kinder to myself.
and less critical of myself.
I've become my own friend.
I don't chide myself for eating the extra piece of cake,
or not making the bed or buying that silly palm tree.
I am entitled.

I have seen too many dear, dear friends and loving family members
leave this world too soon....before they understood
the great freedom that comes with aging.

Who's business is it if I choose to play on the computer 'til 4am
or dance with myself to the great guitar riff's of the '60's and '70's?
And if I want to sob over a lost love - I will.

I am lucky to have lived long enough
to have my youthful laughs
forever etched into deep grooves on my face.

As I age it is easier to be positive.
I care less about what other people think.
I don't question myself anymore.
I have earned the right to be wrong.

I like being older.
It has set me free.
I like the person I have become.
I will not waste time lamenting what could have been,
or worrying about what will be.

And I will eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it)!!