The Art of Aging Gracefully

Let me hope that while my body may fail in strength

my spirit will grow in wisdom.

Let me see that being independent is not necessarily

an end all and be all

and that embracing interdependence.

May be the greatest gift I can give those who love and care about me.

Let me look out the window and see not how few summers there are left to me

but how beautiful are the summers left to me.

Let me be relieved to know that my past is no longer my past

that it is instead my history—

my story of me—

and that it no longer has a hold on me.

Let me look at my body and see beauty,

Not the beauty of the curved hip and the raised breast,

but simply beauty.

Let me look at my children and see them not as I thought I shaped them

or as I thought I influenced them

but exactly as they are

separate and apart from me

while at the same time

connected to me.

Let me remember that God authors stories not religions

that kindness changes everything

that war is never good.

Let music take me across the bridge to the other side.

Let me be able to lie in my last hour

and feel nothing but gratitude for it all.

Exactly as it is and exactly as it was

and in these ways.

May I learn the secret of aging—and dying—well.

Author Unknown

When Tomorrow Starts Without Me

When tomorrow starts without me,

And I'm not there to see;

If the sun should rise and find your eyes

All filled with tears for me;

I wish so much you wouldn't cry

The way you did today,

While thinking of the many things,

We didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me,

As much as I love you,

And each time that you think of me,

I know you'll miss me too;

But when tomorrow starts without me,

Please try to understand,

That an angel came and

called my name,

And took me by the hand,

And said my place was ready,

In Heaven far above,

And that I'd have to leave behind

All those I dearly love.

But as I turned to walk away,

A tear fell from my eye,

For all my life, I'd always thought,

I didn't want to die.

I had so much to live for,

So much yet to do,

It seemed almost impossible,

That I was leaving you.

I thought of all the yesterdays,

The good ones and the bad,

I thought of all the love we shared,

And all the fun we had.

If I could relive yesterday,

Just even for a while,

I'd say goodbye and kiss you

And maybe see you smile.

But then I fully realized,

That this could never be,

For emptiness and memories,

Would take the place of me.

And when I thought of worldly things,

I might miss come tomorrow,

I thought of you, and when I did,

My heart was filled with sorrow.

But when I walked through Heaven's gates,

I felt so much at home.

When God looked down and

smiled at me,

From His great golden throne,

He said "This is eternity,

And all I've promised you."

Today your life on earth is past,

But here it starts anew.

I promise no tomorrow,

But today will always last,

and since each day's the same way

There's no longing for the past.

Buy you have been so faithful,

So trusting and so true.

Though there were times

you did some things,

You knew you shouldn't do.

But you have been forgiven

And now at last you're free.

So won't you take my hand

And share my life with me?

So when tomorrow starts without me,

Don't think we're far apart,

For every time you think of me,

I'm right here, in your heart.

Janice M. Fair-Salters ©

My Get Up and Go Has Got Up and Went

How do I know that my youth is all spent?

Well, my get up and go has got up and went,

But in spite of it all I am able to grin.

When I think of the places my get up has been.

Old age is golden, So I've heard said

But sometimes I wonder, as I get into bed.

With my ears in a drawer, my teeth in a cup

And my eyes on the table until I wake up.

Ere sleep dims my eyes I say to myself

"Is there anything else I can put on the shelf?"

And I'm happy to say as I close the door

"My friends are the same, perhaps even more."

When I was a young thing my slippers were red,

I could kick my heels as high as my head.

Then when I was older, my slippers were blue,

But still I could walk the whole day through.

Now I'm still older, my slippers are black.

I walk to the store and puff my way back.

The reason I know my youth is all spent,

My get up and go has got up and went.

But really, I don't mind when I think with a grin,

Of all the grand places my get up has been.

Since I have retired from life's competition

I busy myself with complete repetition.

I get up each morning and dust off my wits,

Pick up the paper and read the 'obits',

If my name is missing I know I'm not dead

So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed.

Author Unknown

Miss Me but Let Me Go

When I come to the end of the road

And the sun has set for me

I want no rites in a gloom-filled room.

Why cry for a soul set free?

Miss me a little – but not too long

And not with your head bowed low.

Remember the love that we once shared,

Miss me – but let me go.

For this is a journey that we all must take

And each must go alone.

It's all a part of the Master's plan,

A step on the road to home.

When you are lonely and sick of heart

Go to the friends we know

And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds.

Miss Me – But Let me Go!

Author Unknown

I Do Not Think My Song Will End

I do not think my song will end

While flowers, grass and trees

Abound with birds and butterflies

For I am one with these.

And I believe my voice will sound

Upon the whispering wind

So long as even one remains

Among those I call "friend."

I shall remain in hearts and minds

Of loved ones that I knew,

And in the rocks and hills and streams

Because I love those, too.

So long as love and hope and dreams

Abide in earth and sky,

Weep not for me, though I be gone.

I shall not really die.

Johnny Hathcock ©

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