When I am Old

A friend sent this to me --she knows me well

Thanks Joan !!!

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WHEN I AM OLD

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When I am old... I will wear soft gray sweatshirts... and a

bandana over my silver hair... and I will spend my social

security checks on wine and my dogs.

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I will sit in my house on my well-worn chair and listen

to my dogs breathing.I will sneak out in the middle of a

warm summer night and take my dogs for a run,

if my old bones will allow...

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When people come to call, I will smile and nod as I show

them my dogs... and talk of them and about them...

the ones so beloved of the past and the ones so beloved of today...

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I will still work hard cleaning after them, mopping and

feeding them and whispering their names in a soft loving

way. I will wear the gleaming sweat on my throat,

like a jewel, and I will be an embarrassment to all... especially

my family... who have not yet found the peace in

being free to have dogs as your best friends...

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These friends who always wait, at any hour, for your

footfall... and eagerly jump to their feet out of a sound

sleep, to greet you as if you are a God, with warm eyes

full of adoring love and hope that you will always stay,

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I'll hug their big strong necks... I'll kiss their dear sweet

heads... and whisper in their very special company....

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I look in the mirror... and see I am getting old....

this is the kind of person I am... and have always been.

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Loving dogs is easy, they are part of me.

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Please accept me for who I am.

My dogs appreciate my presence in their lives...

they love my presence in their lives...

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When I am old this will be important to me...

you will understand when you are old,

if you have dogs to love too.

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-- author unknown