Growing Old Disgracefully

05/11/2025

👵Written by a 90 year old!!❤️
🤙42 lessons life taught me 💖
It is something we should all read at least once a week! Make sure you read to the end!
Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio.
"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 42 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short – enjoy it..
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.
9. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
10. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
11. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
12. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
13. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it...
14 Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
15. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.
16. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
17. It's never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.
18. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
19. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
20. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
21. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.💖
22. The most important s*x organ is the brain.
23. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
24. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
25. Always choose life.
26. Forgive but don’t forget.
27. What other people think of you is none of your business.
28. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
30. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does..
31. Believe in miracles.
32. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
33. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
34. Your children get only one childhood.
35. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
36. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere. (I love this one)
37. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
38. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have not what you need.
39. The best is yet to come...
40. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
41. Yield.
42. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.
❤️❤️❤️

03/11/2025

With each year I become more grounded,
As my soul becomes more free,
I've grown roots that keep me stable,
I'm finally enjoying being me.

Life is now rich with simplicity,
I avoid the drama that some may bring,
I'm happy in my own company,
My heart has learned how to sing.

In each new silver hair I rejoice,
Aging is a blessing, some never know,
My journey has brought me so far,
And hopefully, still, some way to go.

I cherish each precious moment,
The laughter shared, the silent peace,
In every chapter, I now stand stoic,
With wisdom my worries cease.

So here's to the years that shape and mold,
With knowledge gained and stories to tell,
I embrace the path that I have walked,
In this seasoned body, I'm happy to dwell ..

🖋️C.E. Coombes
🎨 Credit to unknown artist

Serendipity Corner 🍂

16/10/2025

This made me chuckle and reminded me of how freeing becoming vintage can be !

When you just say it how it is and detach form any outcome 🙏🏻😂

B&M JOB APPLICATION
This is an actual job application that a 75-year-old pensioner submitted to the Wick branch
They hired him because he was so funny.
NAME: Kenneth Mcmanson (Grumpy Bast*rd)
S*X: Not lately, but 1 am looking for the right woman (or at least one who will cooperate)
DESIRED POSITON: Company's Chief Executive or Managing Director. But seriously, whatever's available. If I was in a position to be picky, I wouldn't be applying in the first place - would i?
DESIRED SALARY: £150,000 a year plus share options and a Tony Blair style redundancy package. If that's not possible, make an offer and we can haggle.
EDUCATION: Yes.
LAST POSITON HELD: Target for middle management hostility.
PREVIOUS SALARY: A lot less than I’m worth.
MOST NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT: My incredible collection of stolen pens and post-it notes.
REASON FOR LEAVING: It was a crap job.
HOURS AVAILABLE TO WORK: Any.
PREFERRED HOURS: 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.
DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL SKILLS?: Yes, but they're better suited to a more intimate environment.
MAY WE CONTACT YOUR CURRENT EMPLOYER?: If I had one, would I be here'?
DO YOU HAVE ANY PHYSICAL CONDITIONS THAT WOULD PROHIBIT YOU FROM LIFTING UP TO 50 lbs.?: Of what?
DO YOU HAVE A CAR?: I think the more appropriate question here would be “Do you have a car that runs?"
HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANY SPECIAL AWARDS OR RECOGNITION?: I may already be a winner of the Reader's Digest Timeshare Free Holiday Offer, so they tell me.
DO YOU SMOKE?: On the job – no. On my breaks - yes!
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE DOING IN FIVE YEARS?: Living in the Bahamas with a fabulously wealthy Swedish supermodel with big t**s and who thinks I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread. Actually, I’d like to be doing that now.
NEAREST RELATIVE: 7 miles
DO YOU CERTIFY THAT THE ABOVE IS TRUE AND COMPLETE TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE?: Oh yes. absolutely.
🤣🤣

05/10/2025

No other words needed 🙏🏻❤️

03/10/2025

“My next great adventure, aged 90, is going to be dying.

There’s either nothing or something.

If there’s nothing, there’s nothing, that’s it.

If there’s something, I can’t think of a greater adventure than finding out what it is.

I happen to think there is something because of the experiences I’ve had, because of experiences other people have had. Very powerful ones.”

~ Jane Goodall

Now she knows ☺

And here's one of her experiences, in her own beautiful words:
"Lost in awe at the beauty around me, I must have slipped into a state of heightened awareness. It is hard – impossible really – to put into words the moment of truth that suddenly came upon me then. Even the mystics are unable to describe their brief flashes of spiritual ecstasy. It seemed to me, as I struggled afterward to recall the experience, the self was utterly absent: I and the chimpanzees, the earth and trees and air, seemed to merge, to become one with the spirit power of life itself.
That afternoon, it had been as though an unseen hand had drawn back a curtain and, for the briefest moment, I had seen through such a window. In a flash of “outsight” I had known timelessness and quiet ecstasy, sensed a truth of which mainstream science is merely a small fraction. And I knew that the revelation would be with me for the rest of my life, imperfectly remembered yet always within. A source of strength on which I could draw when life seemed harsh or cruel or desperate.
All the time, I was getting closer to animals and nature, and as a result, closer to myself and more in tune with the spiritual power that I felt all around. For those who have experienced the joy of being alone with nature, there is really little need to say more; for those who have not, no words of mine can ever describe the powerful, almost mystical knowledge of beauty and eternity that come, suddenly, and all unexpected."
(Quoted from her book
"Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey")

12/09/2025

✨ “It’s Never Too Late” ✨
“If you didn’t do it at forty, then do it at sixty. What matters is that you do it.”

She lived by those words—joyfully, fully—until the age of 97.
At the time, I thought it was just another one of her gentle, wise reminders.
But now, I finally see the truth in it.

We live in a world obsessed with clocks and milestones:
Marry by thirty.
Succeed by forty.
Retire by sixty-five.
And if you don’t? People act as if your chance has slipped away.

But life doesn’t work like that.
It doesn’t close the door just because you missed someone else’s timeline.

If your twenties were filled with doubt—make your fifties your bold years.
If your thirties were all about survival—let your sixties be your second bloom.
If you’ve lived quietly—why not spend the next chapter living loudly?

There is no expiration date on joy.
No deadline for learning.
No cutoff for self-discovery.

Wear the dress that makes you feel powerful.
Start the hobby you once thought was “too late.”
Book the trip you dreamed of but kept putting off.

Because here’s the secret:
“Late” is still right on time.

💖 And the only wrong time… is never.

26/08/2025

The beautiful, well-versed 83 year old lady, fully dressed every morning at 8 am sharp, with her hair done in fashion and perfectly applied makeup, is moving to a retirement home. Her husband recently died, which motivated her move.
After many hours of patiently waiting in the hall of the home, she smiled sweetly, when told her room was ready.
As she moved her walker toward the elevator, she was given a detailed description of her small room, including the curtains hanging from her window.
′′ I love it "", she said, with the enthusiasm of a 8-year-old girl who was just handed over a new pet.
- Mrs. Jones; you haven't seen the room, just wait.
- That doesn't matter, she replied.
Happiness is something you decide over time. Whether or not I like my room doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged, it depends on how I arrange my mind.
I’ve already decided that I like it. It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have the choice; I can spend the day in bed, going through the difficulty I have with my body parts that don't work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the parts that do work.
Every day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I will focus on the new day and the happy memories I've stored just for this time in my life.
HAPPINESS is like a bank account: you withdraw from it, what you deposit.
So my advice would be to deposit a lot of happiness into your memory account.
Remember these five simple things:
1.- Free your heart from hate/discord.
2.- Free your mind from worries.
3.- Live Simply.
4.- Give more.
5.- Take less.

17/08/2025

09/08/2025

We all need this reminder sometimes 🙏🏻❤️
Life is short. We all tell ourselves “I’ll do it later”, but later isn’t promised.
Every dream, every risk, every conversation you keep putting off… that’s time you’ll never get back.

Start now. The clock’s already ticking.

02/08/2025

One month before her 95th birthday, Patricia Routledge wrote something that still gently echoes:*

**“I’ll be turning 95 this coming Monday. In my younger years, I was often filled with worry — worry that I wasn’t quite good enough, that no one would cast me again, that I wouldn’t live up to my mother’s hopes. But these days begin in peace, and end in gratitude.”**

My life didn’t quite take shape until my forties. I had worked steadily — on provincial stages, in radio plays, in West End productions — but I often felt adrift, as though I was searching for a home within myself that I hadn’t quite found.

At 50, I accepted a television role that many would later associate me with — Hyacinth Bucket, of Keeping Up Appearances. I thought it would be a small part in a little series. I never imagined that it would take me into people’s living rooms and hearts around the world. And truthfully, that role taught me to accept my own quirks. It healed something in me.

At 60, I began learning Italian — not for work, but so I could sing opera in its native language. I also learned how to live alone without feeling lonely. I read poetry aloud each evening, not to perfect my diction, but to quiet my soul.

At 70, I returned to the Shakespearean stage — something I once believed I had aged out of. But this time, I had nothing to prove. I stood on those boards with stillness, and audiences felt that. I was no longer performing. I was simply being.

At 80, I took up watercolor painting. I painted flowers from my garden, old hats from my youth, and faces I remembered from the London Underground. Each painting was a quiet memory made visible.

Now, at 95, I write letters by hand. I’m learning to bake rye bread. I still breathe deeply every morning. I still adore laughter — though I no longer try to make anyone laugh. I love the quiet more than ever.

**I’m writing this to tell you something simple:**

**Growing older is not the closing act. It can be the most exquisite chapter — if you let yourself bloom again.**

Let these years ahead be your *treasure years*.
You don’t need to be famous. You don’t need to be flawless.
You only need to show up — fully — for the life that is still yours.

*With love and gentleness,*
— Patricia Routledge

26/07/2025

Oh so true 😂😂😂