Old age, or even what they kindly classify as middle age is cruel at best. There are advantages, mind you, but the bad aspects out weigh the good ones, about a thousand to one.

1. Yes, we are wiser. MUCH wiser. And, we might even come close to knowing it all. So there.

2. You get to retire, and do what you want to do, when you want to do it. To some, that might sound like the best of all worlds, but the problem is that it comes at a time of life when you are physically unable to do all the things you youngsters think you will do in your retirement. So, listen up, kids. Do it now.

I am out of good points. Ok, we bird watch and enjoy the hell out of it. I can hear my daughter groaning.

I guess I am down because we just lost a really close good friend. The kind of friend who has his own chair in your kitchen. We have lost a few friends, I think my list is some where near twenty-nine (gee, who is counting?), but Gary came a little closer than most. I will make a little charm with his name on it, and add it to the necklace I can wrap three times around my neck, dangling to my waist on each pass, names of friends who have gone before us. I will think of him many, many times before I wear the necklace again on the next All Souls Night. And I will count my own days, trying to remember a few tings every day:

Time passes so quickly now, enjoy every single moment if you can. Turn negativity into something positive. Keep your karma happy. Love everyone in your life daily. Try and keep your plate cleaned off.

I don't know how many days I have. I might have a few years, thirty years, or just two. I might discover I have bone cancer like so many these days and be gone in a month. What a blessing to go that quickly! For me AND my family. Thinking about your end might not be considered healthy, but at sixty, it certainly is realistic. So:

You write or call everyone you know and tell them how much you love them. Check.
You make sure your will is in order and your husband knows that if he gets rid of Maggie after you are gone, you will come back to haunt him. Check.
You think about how you would like to spend your last days, and do what you normally do anyway. Check.
You write up a short article for your packrat page, think about sharing it on Facebook, let the younger kids under 50 know older age ain't no picnic. Enjoy life now. Please. Check.

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