I was inside the other day (I need to get out more), and the children all tumbled in, talking over one another excitedly. Before I can get out a 'what in the world?', they drag me outside because "you **MUST** see this"!!

I'll admit, I thought that it was going to be bad news, like the fence was broken, etc.. But I was wrong... it was this:


This picture is not Photoshopped. And in person, it was a real showstopper. I was speechless (and, if you know me, that's not an easy thing to do)!



After I gathered my wits, we took the photo, and I told the crew, that they were right... this absolutely was a must see!

We watched the sun go down, and took some more pics:














The lights in this photo are my nearest neighbors' (about 2 acres away) power pole lights... it was about 7:30pm.

[I wish I had written this one, but I didn't... It doesn't make it any less meaningful, though :-)]

The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let her know.

Old Age, I decided, is a gift.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, 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, my wonderful life, my loving family for less 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, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. 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 they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon?

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60&70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.

They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. 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)!

The weather has been very hot lately, but it is beginning to cool off... down in the low 90s, lol!

But the sky is just as beautiful as it is in the springtime. Sometimes, I just look up at the sky, and all those beautiful clouds, and I think that I'm going to burst with happiness.

South Carolina really agrees with me. It is warm and beautiful, with lots of greenery and trees, and there is lots of space to simply _be_, without having to rush about.

I have my camera now, so I'll be taking some pictures soon of sunrises and sunsets from my bedroom. It's a fantastic thing, to have your master bedroom have windows on the east *and* the west side of the house. No matter what time of year it is, there's always plenty of light during the day (if I could only do something about those shorter days, lol!)... Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful home!!