I've been told so many times not to get old when at work in the clinic. Understandable the patients there would say that, considering all their problems that brought them to need the services. I never knew how to respond to that. One man had such conviction that when I laughed it off, he looked me in the eye and said, "No. I'm serious." So what am I supposed to do? Kill myself before I get old? And when exactly do I reach "old"? My kids already think I'm old. If being old was that awful for him, why hadn't he offed himself already? I'm not being mean when I say that. I don't think he should quit being old. I just don't get it at all.

Maybe it's because I'm not old, but I figure being old is better than not being in most cases. I know someone whose life was saved by a liver transplant, and she celebrates every birthday with relish. She appreciates every single day of her life, and it hasn't been perfect since the transplant either. She's had a lot of trouble, and the second liver is now failing. She wants to be old.

I suppose it's all a matter of what you have in and how you see life. Aging certainly brings some unwelcome things with it, but I hope I never get to where that man is.

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One Year Ago Today: