growing up and growing old

I would like to share something with you that is a path or a pearl
to be learned while we travel along the Way. It is something that
has kept me in good stead while I travel through this life. It is a
true tale to be held in your minds. The first day of school our
professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know
someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a
gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled,
little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire
being. She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven
years old. Can I give you a hug?" I laughed and enthusiastically
responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant
squeeze. "Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I
asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get
married, and have a couple of kids..." "No seriously," I asked. I
was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this
challenge at her age. "I always dreamed of having a college
education and now I'm getting one!" she told me. After class we
walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate
milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three
months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always
mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom
and experience with me. Over the course of the year, Rose became a
campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved
to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from
the other students. She was living it up. At the end of the semester
we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget
what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium.
As she began to deliver her prepa red speech, she dropped her three
by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she
leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so
jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me!
I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what
I know." As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not
stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop
playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy,
and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day.
You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We
have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know
it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.
If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and
don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I
am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do
anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That
doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always
finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually
don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not
do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets . " She
concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose." She
challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our
daily lives. At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she
had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died
peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended
her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example
that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be. REMEMBER,
GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. We make a Living
by what we get, We make a Life by what we give. ...............And
the rats tail fell off.........................