Greetings from an "Old Timer"

My friend, Wallace Lee, called me the other day to tell me that after filling up his truck with gas he left the door of the gas tank open. As he drove away from the station a young man pulled up beside him and said "Hey, old timer, you left your gas cap off". Wallace said that he had never been called "old timer"a before and he got quite a laugh out of it. He and I then went into a deep conversation discussing the pros and cons of being an old timer. The backside of it this morning is that yesterday I made arrangements with a cardiologist to have an arteriagram next week. I have been experiencing symptoms of, what might or might not be, heart related issues so it is time to have it checked out. I am not nervous over the appointment. My attitude toward this is "what is to be will be" and I know that it will be okay. Whatever the outcome I know that my Lord is in control and He will take care of the situation. The good part of being an old timer is that I can say that and not think I have to be in control of every single thing.

Here are some more thoughts about being an "old timer" and I am quoting from a poem I found while cleaning out some of my keepsakes:
"I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. O, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long. I would never trade my amazing friends, or my wonderful life, my loving family for les gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4:00AM? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 40's and 50'w and if I, at the same time, wish to cry over a lost love..I will. I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old. I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself as much because I have even earned the right to be wrong. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day if I feel like it."

Don't you think that is a delightful piece of poetry? That about sums it up for today, and I hope each of you that reads this has a wonderful and happy day.