GRANDMOTHERS

A grandmother is a lady who has no little children of her own She likes other people's.
A grandfather is a man grandmother.

Grandmothers don't have to do anything except be there when we come to see them. They are so old, they shouldn't play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the store and have lots of quarters for us.

When thry take us for walks, they slow down for things like pretty leaves and caterpillars.

They show us and talk to us about the color of the flowers and also why we shouldn't step on cracks.

They have to answer questions like "Why isn't God married?" and "How come dogs chase cats?"

When they read to us, they don't skip. They don't mind if we ask for the same story over again.

Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don't have television, because they are the only ones who like to spend time with us.

They know we should have snack time before bedtime and they say prayers with us every time, and kiss us even when we've acted bad.

After Christmas, a teacher asked her young pupils how they spent their holidays away from school. One child wrote the following:

We always used to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa. They used to live in a big brick house, but Grandpa got retarded and they moved to Arizona. Now they live in a tin box and have rocks painted green to look like grass. They ride around on their bicycles and wear name tags because they don't know who they are anymore. They go to a building called a wrecked center, but they must have got it fixed, because it is all okay now. They play games and do exercises there, but they don't do them very well. There is a swimming pool, too, but in it they all jump up and down with hats on while they talk to each other. I guess they don't know how to swim. At their gate, there is a dollhouse with a little man sitting in it. He watches all day so nobody can escape. Sometimes they sneak out. They go cruising in their golf carts. Nobody there cooks, they just eat out. And they eat the same thing every night-early birds. Some of the people can't get out past the man in the dollhouse. The ones who do get out bring food back to the wrecked center and call it potluck. My Grandma says I should work hard so I can be retarded someday, too. When I earn my retardment, I want to be the man in the dollhouse. Then I will let people out so they can visit their grandchildren.

Old age, I 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 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, but I don't agonize over those things for long.
I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or 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 estravagant.
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 a.m., and sleep until noon?

I will dance withmyself to those wonderful tunes of the 60's (50's 40's--whatever) 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 bikini 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 a beloved pet gets hit by a car?
But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. Aheart 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 turn gray , and to have my youthful laughts 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 "no", and I can say"yes". And mean it.
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 your question, DO 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.