"Crabbed Age and Youth"

Some of the things I wish for are:

• peace in the world
• politicians who actually give a damn about conservation and the environment
• a measure of "success" for my children, in love and in life [I like Ralph Waldo Emerson's definition]
• the ability to wiggle my nose--and presto!--land in the middle of my sister's kitchen in Ireland.

But, more than all of the above I want to grow old gracefully. To:

• listen with eyes, ears, and respect when young people talk, because they learn from our example;
• lend an ear to old people because they're lonesome for their youth, and the way things used to be;
• give time, talent and thoughtfulness, cheerfully, and not keep a tally;
• exercise and eat healthily to keep the wits and the bones well oiled;
• give advice sparingly, and only when asked;
• if I have to dig a little to find something to praise, hand me the shovel;
• never give up on anyone;
• hope and trust that God, the Great Pumpkin, or whoever is in charge of such matters, forgives me for all the times I shot from the lip, without care for the consequences, which were sometimes...bad;
• live with and accept my faults, knowing that, most of the time, my intentions were ...good.

There was a dog-eared copy of The Oxford Book of English Verse on the dining room bookshelf when I was growing up. I loved to curl up by the fire and dig around in that old book. I learned many of those delicious wordsongs by heart. This one," Crabbed Age and Youth", has been bouncing around in my brain of late.....Growing old does not automatically confer wisdom. I guess you have to work at it. I intend to give it my best shot.