SOME THOUGHTS ON AGING

FROM A WEBSITE…”SUDDENLY SENIOR”
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know . I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze. "Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel."No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age."I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.
She was chosen to speak at the Football banquet. Here is some of what she said.
"We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!""There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything, I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability.""The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."

IN THIS WEEK'S EDITION OF NEWSWEEK
Billy Graham (now 87) writes: "All my life I've been taught how to die, but no one ever taught me how to grow old." And again, he says: "When you get older, secondary things, like politics, begin to fall away, and the primary thing becomes primary again."

FROM WATER FOR ELEPHANTS BY SARA GRUEN
93-year-old Jacob Jankowski looks in a mirror, sees bags under his eyes, a few strands of white hair spring absurdly from his spotted skull. “It’s no good. I can’t find myself anymore. When did I stop being me?”

You might want to share these thoughts with someone who's growing older. Look in the mirror! ;-) Jack