When I am Old…

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.

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…

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…

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…

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,

I’ll hug their big strong  necks…
I’ll kiss their dear sweet  heads…
and whisper in their very special  company….

I look in the mirror… and  see I am getting old….
this is the kind of  person I am…
and have always  been.

Loving dogs is easy, they are part  of me.

Please accept me for who I  am.
My dogs appreciate my presence in their  lives…
they love my presence in their  lives…

When I am old this will be  important to me…
you will understand when  you are old,
if you have dogs to love  too.

—-author  unknown

Fort Morgan AL "the beach" 2002 Luke and Gitte