Thursday, 12 January 2012

When I Am Old....

I knew I was a pack rat and horrible hoarder, but didn't realize it spilled over into my email account until today.  I found an email from a dear friend filed away neatly in an electronic file I haven't looked at for years.  It was worth saving and worth reprinting (to all dog lovers) so here is the 2004 email I thought was worth saving:  (And far more pertinent to me today than it was 8 years ago!)
When I am Old.
I shall wear Turquoise and soft gray sweatshirts... and a bandana over my long, silver hair.....and I shall spend my Social Security Checks on Sweet Wine and My Dogs.......and sit in my house on my well-worn chair.and listen to my dog's breathing.
I will sneak out in the middle of  a warm Summer night and take my Nero for a run, if my old bones will allow... and when people come to call, I will smile and nod as I walk out and show them my dogs...and talk of them and about them... The Ones so Beloved of the Past and the Ones so Beloved of Today.... I still will work hard cleaning their runs and mopping and feeding them and whispering their names in a soft, loving way.. I will wear the gleaming sweat on my throat, like a jewel .. and I will be an embarrassment to all...and my Children ...  who have not yet found the peace in being free to have dogs as your Best Friends.... These friends who always wait, at any hour, for your footfall...and eagerly jump to their feet out of a sound sleep, to greet you .......as if you are a God.   
With warm eyes full of  adoring love  and hope that you will stay and hug their big, strong necks...and kiss their dear sweet heads...and whisper to them of  your love and the beautiful pleasure of their   very special company.... I look in the Mirror...and see I am getting  old.... this is the kind of woman I am...and have always been. Loving dogs is easy, they are part of me, accept me for who I am, my dogs appreciate my presence in their lives...when I am old this will be important to me...you will understand when you are old....
if you have dogs to love too.  
Author Unknown

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