On getting old

How do you respond to someone telling you not to grow old? I get this a lot as a nurse. Patients I look after would tell me, “Don’t grow old!” They would tell me all about their aches and pains, arthritis here and there, and memories of long ago that are now just memories and can no longer be repeated. I know deep inside me that I am growing old and that no one can escape this, not even kings or the richest of all men. I look at old people as a preview of things to come for me. At least in my own body, the deterioration is not something I look forward to, but I love their honest resignation to everything. I love the look in their eyes when they smile with such confidence, as if they are telling you, “I have been there; I have done that.” I love the patience and the letting go and the way they just get on with things. They no longer rush. They are happy to wait and to listen. Somehow, they teach me to be gracious, to embrace each moment of my younger years with joy, and to cherish them while I can. How about you? What does growing old teach you?