With all the recent milestones of birthdays (including mine) and New Years, and even an eleventy-first, here's something to help keep all this in persepctive:
>George Carlin's Views on Aging
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old
is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so
excited about aging that you think in fractions.
"How old are you?"
"I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four
and a half, going on five.
That's the key. You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back.
You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey,
you're gonna be 16!
And then the greatest day of your life . . .. you become 21. Even the
words sound like a ceremony . . . YOU BECOME 21. . .YEARS.
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like
bad milk. He TURNED, we had to throw him out. There's no fun now,
you're just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed? You
BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the
brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 . . .
and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would! So you BECOME
21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60. You've built up so
much speed that you HIT 70!
After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your
80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30;
you REACH bedtime.
And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I was
JUST 92." Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you
become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!" May you all make it to
a healthy 100 and a half!!
>HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes
age, weight and height. Let the doctor worry about them. That is
why you pay him/ her.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts,
gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the
devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only
person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you
are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family,
pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your
refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable,
improve
it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, to the next county,
to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAY REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we
take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
