If you can’t deny that things have changed
And life, as before, is rearranged
If you once were warm but now feel colder
Accept the truth; you’re getting older.
If thin skin itches and you need to scratch
If you worry that your clothes don’t match
If you tightly squint your failing eyes
If you assume the mirror lies
When it shows you otherwise;
If you drive your car but forget to where
Yet somehow, safely you got there;
If you find it hard to retrieve a word
And repeat old stories already heard;
If suddenly you just stop to stare
If you search for loved ones no longer here,
Wanting them to reappear ;
If at times you become moody,
Solitary and a bit broody;
If your clothing has become too long,
If you fret and stamp and act forlorn,
Admit you’ve shrunk, proceed with haste,
Pull up your pants above your waist,
If you splash in puddles happily,
And couldn’t care if anyone might see,
Your timeless joy and jubilee,
If you stress about your whitening hair,
If younger friends now call you “dear,”
If you don pajamas at half past four
Hoping no one knocks upon your door,
If you enjoy jumping into bed at night
To read your books by one bright light ,
If you slowly sip on bedtime tea
While watching old movies on TV,
The heat turned high at seventy,
If you get up many times to pee,
If you sleep and dream haphazardly,
If you are wide awake at half-past three,
If you watch moon shadows cast a glow,
If you enjoy the dark night show,
If you are grateful for your many years
If you embrace your joy and accept your tears,
If all these things have come to be —
Celebrate! My friend
You are just like me!
Doris Lubell, 82 years old, is a year-round Edgartown resident.
