#age

MORE THAN A NUMBER

 

Deborah has a group of high school friends who get together every now and then.

Their latest time together was at the memorial for an old friend.

 

Old age is 65 or older…at least that’s what the experts say.

But it’s more than that..as this group of friends proves more and more each day.

 

There is no guide to growing old…no one secret…one truth…one little gem.

But here are a few things I’ve observed that makes the ride smoother for them. 

 

They are genuinely happy and supportive of each other

They are there when times are rough.

They anticipate each other’s needs and how sometimes…

just their friendship is enough.

 

They enjoy each other’s company.  They make each other laugh

and they hold on to one another when they cry.

They know instinctively whenever they need a friend…a friend will be nearby.

 

Though life took them in different directions…when they get together…this they know:

How blessed they’ve been to be around…to watch each other grow.

 

Through all of life’s ups and downs…these friends have been aware

whether it’s an up or it’s a down…their love is always there.

 

Their Love is there to help these friends get through…one day at a time.

In the poetry of their life…it’s love that is their thyme.

 

It seems to me these old friends understand as they navigate life’s changing weather…

the greatest gift they have been given…is growing old…together.

 

Of course I’m no expert…but I like to think all of us…before we reach our final slumber

will realize, like these friends do, how growing old is much more than a number.

 

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YOUNGER THAN WE LOOK

 

 

Deborah and I received a wonderful complement from Ava., our granddaughter, the other day

It coincided with a time we’d come to terms with becoming old and grey.

 

We met for lunch at a restaurant…for our usual…good food, conversation…and fun

when the conversation turned to age…and how this year we’ll both be 71.

 

Deborah mentioned how she’s loved her life…and as each years unfolds….

even now at 71…she doesn’t feel old.

 

I smiled and nodded at her thinking…for I wholeheartedly agree…

even though when it comes to age…Deborah is six months older than me :)

 

The point is we feel lucky to be in our 70’s…then the next thing we were told

by Ava with with a smile on her face…was how the two of us don’t seem that old.

 

How old do you think we are…we asked…our old senses now revived…. 

when she thought a moment, smile then said…not a day over 65.

 

Gauging someone’s age…isn’t always easy…

sometimes it can be tough…

and when Ava took 5 years off our age…

we thought…5 years is enough.

 

It was a happy moment…and we thanked our lucky stars…

and hope our children and our grandchildren will always see us 

a little younger than we are.

 

That they will always look into our hearts…

and see our chid is still alive…

A child who at 71…doesn’t look a day over 65.

 
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FROM THE YOUNGEST TO THE OLDEST

 

We decided to take a swimming pool exercise class for seniors…

we thought it would be sweet…

A way to get some exercise and beat the Florida heat.

 

Two realizations hit me as I waded in: One, the water was a little cool,

and Two, as I looked around it seemed to me…I was the oldest man in the pool.

 

My mind drifted back to my swimming lessons…my parents thought it’d be cool

to take me when I was just a baby…the youngest in the pool.

 

My birthday is on New Year’s Eve…six days after the Yule…

My parents sent me to 1st grade early so I was the youngest in my class at school.

 

At 21 I became a teacher…for the most part still a fool….

but here I was in Kent, Ohio…the youngest teacher in my school.

 

And I wondered where the time has gone…while exercising in the water…nice and cool

How have I gone from the youngest…to the oldest in the pool?

 

Then I found myself smiling at my good fortune…time has not been cruel…

for there beside me was my wife, Deborah, exercising in the pool.

 

We have a wonderful family…friends…we’ve had pets both dogs and cats….

We’ve been lucky to grow old together…and there’s nothing wrong with that! 

 

As we finished our exercise class a baby was taking lessons…learning how to swim…

I stopped on my way out of the pool to wave and smile at him…

 

Secretly I hoped his life…like mine…will be a jewel….

A parting wish from the oldest man…to the youngest in the pool.

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A BLESSING ON AGE AND WISDOM

 

Today’s blessing is for everyone…

in every country, city and state:

May we be blessed not to grow old too soon…

and discover our wisdom too late.

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MY OVERALLS HAVE GROWN OLD

 

 

I have this pair of overalls I bought in 1988…when to our cabin I first arrived

back then the overalls were new and I was 35. 

 

When these overalls were young boy did they work hard

all around the cabin…in the driveway…in the yard.

 

They could work for hours with a sickle, hoe or rake…

work for an entire day without a rest…without taking a break.

 

But I’ve noticed something in recent years…

something I know my overalls don’t want to admit

In the 35 years I’ve owned them…they have slowed down a bit.

 

They seem to need more breaks…they don’t work near as hard…

they now only last an hour our two…in the driveway or the yard,.

 

I guess it was inevitable and the truth must now be told…

in the 35 years since I purchased them…my overalls have grown old.

 

But since they’ve been so good to me for so long…I won’t let them know…I know…

and when I put them on…I am happy to let them work a little slow.

 

To let them work at their own pace…and as you may have guessed….

to let them take as many breaks as they might need…to let them take a rest.

 

There is no need to buy new overalls…these old ones work just fine

only now the way we work together has, for us, been redefined….

 

I’ve learned a lot from these old overalls…and the stories they have to tell.

I only hope I’m treated with the same respect when I grow old as well.

 

They’re now washed and put away…this year we didn’t quite finish the lawn….

but that’s okay…we’ll get it finished…the next time I put them on.

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EMBRACE OUR AGE

 

May we be blessed to embrace getting older 

every wrinkle, every line…

because wrinkles are only the remnants

that our smiles leave behind

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HE NEVER NEEDED GLASSES

 

HE NEVER NEEDED GLASSES

 

As he grew older and older…as it sometimes does

his vision began to fade…it wasn’t as clear as it once was.

 

The optometrist fitted him with glasses…and the moment he put them on…

his world became much clearer…the blurriness was gone.

 

“They look great on you.” His wife said. “I’m glad your eyes are fixed.”

but behind the smile she showed him…her feelings were quite mixed.

 

“I’m happy…really happy for you.” She said. “And I know this may sound dumb 

but now I’m afraid you’ll be able to see how old I have become.”

 

“Now you will see clearly…all the wrinkles on my face…

all the vestiges of time that cannot be erased.”

 

“As we’ve shared our life together,” he said holding her hand,

“As each new day unfolds…

I never needed glasses to know we’re getting old.”

 

“I never needed glasses to see how perfectly your hand fits into mine.

I never needed glasses to see how completely we align.”

 

“As each day we both grow a little older…it’s natural for our skin to weather…

but I’ve never needed glasses to see how easily our wrinkles fit together.”

 

“Do not worry that these glasses let me see how much the two of us have grown

for they only help me see more clearly…what my eyes have always known.”

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LONGEVITY

 

On his 100th birthday celebration surrounded by his family…

he was asked, ‘what is the secret to your longevity?’

 

He was silent for a moment…they thought, perhaps, he was too weak…

“First of all,” he finally smiled, “I like to think before I speak.”

 

“How I’ve lived to be 100…well, that’s anybody’s guess…

perhaps the best answer I can give is…it comes down to more and less.”

 

“I don’t think there is a secret,” he continued, “to this long life that I’ve had.”

“I suppose, throughout my years…I’ve had more good luck than I’ve had bad.”

 

“I’ve been lucky in my life to have more ups than I’ve had downs

I laugh more than I cry…I smile more than I frown.”

 

“I have more friends than enemies…I listen more than I talk…

When life makes me feel like running…I find more reasons to walk.”

 

“I love more than I hate…I create more then I destroy…

When sorrow touches my life…I try to find more reasons for joy.”

 

"It’s not always an easy journey…riding on Fate’s wings…

but I try to find more reasons to dance…and look for more reasons to sing.”

 

“I think of each day more as an adventure and less an arduous climb.

where I’m on the lookout for more love, 

more joy and more happiness…one day at a time.” 

 

“Finally I play more than I work…and I’m always looking for a way

To discover more love and happiness today…than if found yesterday.”

 

Living to be 100…is indeed special…when I think about it I’m amazed..

but it is less about the number days I’ve lived…

and more about how I’ve lived those days…

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WE AREN'T GROWING OLD

 

She crawled into her grandma’s lap and once there…sharing the same space…

she brushed her tiny fingers across the wrinkles on her grandma’s face.

 

“Why do people grow old, Grandma?” She asked.

“Will I ever be as old as you?”

“One day,” she asked resting her head on Grandma’s chest,

“Will I have wrinkles too?”

 

“Getting old is a gift.” Grandma smiled.

“I wouldn’t be too concerned…for every day you grow a little older…

Is another day you get to live…to love…to learn.”

 

“You see this world is filled with miracles…some are big…and some are small…

with so many miracles out there we need time to see them all.”

 

“That tree you climb out back…with the branches you love to walk along…

If it wasn’t old you couldn’t climb it because those branches wouldn’t be strong.”

 

“And that bark you love to feel means that tree’s growing old gracefully…

for the bark is nothing more than the wrinkles of the tree.”

 

“Don’t be afraid of wrinkles as you grow older…

be glad you’re acquiring some…

because wrinkles tend to show just how wise you have become.”

 

We needn’t worry about growing old,” Grandma smiled

In fact…we should look at it with affection…

Don't think of it as growing old.” she said as she hugged her granddaughter to her chest.

“think of it as aging to perfection.”

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