for those celebrating a birthday

for those celebrating a birthday
Do you like being old  Grandma?
 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 kinder 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 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.
  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 so 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.
   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, 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).