Last week i had this stimulating discussion with 'melanie'... a four year old with glasses bigger than she is ... on laughter.. and the importance of laughing at yourself !!
Melanie had come to school with her father - a volunteer - and had brought her Fisher Price digital camera. She was taking pictures of me.. close up.. see the nose hairs close up... and i said "are you taking another picture of THE old lady??" and she got the giggles and snapped another picture... and another and another. Soon after she was yelling to her brother down the long hallway that she had taken pictures of the "old lady" .. lots of pictures !!! Her father looked mortified and i could see a lecture coming............
So Melanie and i sat down.. and had a little talk about how i had been silly.. and really grownups didn't think it was funny to call someone old lady.. so maybe she should use my real name... which was ok with Melanie.. i am guessing in her mind i was still the funny old lady.
Which got me to thinking........... i don't laugh nearly enough with my kiddies.. i don't.. i always seem to be lecturing about some thing or another........
Then this morning when i was trying to come up with some inspiration for a blog.. i was thinking about getting older... and how .. inside.. i don't feel a day over 20...... and .. well a whole mess of other things about growing older.. and how i don't really want to grow old gracefully.. how i will be dragged into old age kicking and screaming and making faces.. and sticking my tongue out......... i think i am gonna be an embarrassment to my family.......
BUT then i came across a piece written by George Carlin on aging.. and thought i would share it with you........ those of you who are 30 something.. go away .. this isn't for you.. those of you who have reached that magic number that says old.. read on.........
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 die. "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 grasp 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 country, 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 ALWAYS REMEMBER
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
I like this very much -- and I miss George Carlin. However, if there ever was someone who followed his own advice, it would be George. He was the living example of living while you are alive.
ReplyDeleteCherish your days, your love, your kiddos, and I'll try to do the same, and we will be the JOLLY "old" ladies of the internet together.
hugs, swan
ANd you will be taking your own advice?
ReplyDeleteCLoud
You are the youngest "old" lady I know! I think you're taking George's advice pretty well. ;-)
ReplyDeletekaya
that was nice
ReplyDeleteCathy
I really needed this today ... and I hope you don't mind, but I am borrowing it.
ReplyDeleteWe need to quit thinking about old as being a bad thing. Even though a lot of it sucks a green one.
ReplyDeleteI was talking to a friend the other day who thought "You're getting old when you go to more funerals than weddings", which I take to be a truism. I pointed out that you can go to only weddings but, ultimately, can't avoid one funeral in your life. I'm on the wrong side of the hill. I know this shit ;-)
ReplyDeleteBut your post reminded me of something a (currently sick) friend said...this is the closest I can get to it...I found it with Google: He said
"Dance as though no one is watching. Love as though you've never been hurt. Sing as though no on can hear you. Live as though Heaven is on Earth"
(I think giggling with kids is a good addition to my pal's wisdom)
Mr. Upton Ogood
Thank You. Of course, i'm much older than you, so it is much closer to home. However, this is something i can share with my clinically depressed sister, my Sir, and my dearest friends.
ReplyDeleteLife is good! and i'm not old..i'm just well-aged! (like cheese or wine???)
Sir's pet