I don't want to be old!

I'm having a moment over here.

Maybe it's a midlife crisis.

But I just don't want to be OLD.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to die young.  I have great plans on living well into my 100's like 3 out of my 4 grandparents.  This has nothing to do with AGE, but rather to do with being OLD.

My favorite friend (who is 71) fell last week.  Horrific fall.  Her screams still give me nightmares.  When the ambulance arrived, they thought she'd broken her hip, back AND coccyx.  She lucked out, thank GOD, and nothing broke.  But she had a 3 day stay in the hospital, and is now in a recovery center for a week with occupational and physical therapy.  She's still in a lot of pain.  And they are quite sure that the only reason why she didn't break everything is because she's so active.  She takes Pilates classes.  She walks on the treadmill and rides the bike.  She's training for a 5K.   She goes shopping and goes out to eat.  She makes goodies and treats for the volunteers at her cousin's shelter. She bakes biscotti for her cousins, and meatballs for her grandkids. She's dating a very nice man, and hopefully their new romance blossoms into something wonderful.  She travels to visit her children and grandchildren as often as her schedule allows.

And as I stood there in her house doing her dishes and folding her laundry, making sure her house was clean and ready to welcome her back, I realized I just don't want to be old!  

I don't want to sit around and wait for Tuesday to come along so that I can play Bunko with my friends.  I don't want to take naps at 3 in the afternoon, or sleep in until 10.  I don't want someone to come in and change my grown-up diapers and feed me tapioca, with the highlight of my week being some senior citizen special edition of the Pinewood Derby or BINGO night.

I don't want to sit idly by while life passes along.

I want to LIVE LIFE for the next 50 years.  I don't want to watch my husband putz around, shuffling along with his little walker.  I don't want Depends, and cupboards full of medications.  I don't my house smelling vaguely like pee and week-old coffee.

I want the LAUGHTER.  I want travel.  I want great gobs of friends.  I want to be so busy having fun that I FORGET that my years are creeping up on me.  I want dinner parties, and out door get-togethers.  I want TIME to spend DOING, not SITTING letting life pass me by.

Why do people just give up?  Why do they just decide to be OLD?  Maybe I've just befriended too many elderly people.  Maybe I just need to surround myself with lovely young women who have just had their babies and are just starting out on that wonderful and crazy, chaotic time of their lives where they can hardly keep their heads above water.  Maybe I've just been hanging out with the wrong crowd.

I know someone else quite well who has decided she's ready to die any time.  She's 75.  75!!!  Her own mother died at 74, so she figured it's her time.  But her own mom was a raging alcoholic and smoked 4 packs of smokes a day.  It doesn't matter. This woman is dead set (bad choice of words) against living.  She sleeps until 11.  Eats half a banana, is too tired to do anything, goes back to bed, has a light dinner, watches some tv, and goes to bed.

UGH!!

I am choosing LIFE, my dear friends.  LIFE.  Picture Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society, standing on the desks and urging us all to CHOOSE LIFE.  Seize the day.  Carpe Diem.

Let's all make better choices.  Let's exercise today, even if we just don't feel like it.  Let's make and eat something yummy and healthy for dinner and smile at our kids.  Let's take a moment and listen to their stories about what they did today.  Listen.  REALLY Listen.  Don't just stop and say, "mm, hmm, that's nice."  I want you to stop what you're doing.  Look them in the eyes, and just LISTEN.  Listen until they are done talking.  Listen until they've used up all that they needed to use up.  What was their favorite thing they did?  What would they do differently?  What do they wish they could do tomorrow?

The dishes can wait.  Dinner can be late.  Laundry can be folded and put away later.  Just stop and LISTEN to your children.  Love on them a little bit.  Eat a lovely meal with your family.  And then share with them YOUR favorite parts of YOUR day.  Share stories.  Laugh at the silliness of it all.  Enjoy every moment while it's still there to enjoy.  This moment. Today.

Let's make a difference in someone's life.  Let's go out there and LIVE!!  Let us keep on living and living and living and loving life until we're well over 90, and our bodies collapse from all the great living we've done.

And may we never get OLD.

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