Truly lovely thoughts
The first day of university, 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.”
“Seriously,” I asked, “what motivated you to take on this challenge at your age?”
“I’ve always dreamed of having a college education, and now I’m finally 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 experiences with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon. She made friends wherever she went, loved to dress up, and reveled in the attention bestowed upon her by other students. She was truly 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 that day. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, her 3x5 cards slipped from her hands and scattered across the floor.
Frustrated and a little embarrassed, she leaned into the microphone and 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:
1. You have to laugh and find humor every day.
2. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
3. There’s a huge difference between growing older and growing up.
If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year without doing one productive thing, you will turn twenty. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year, 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.
4. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t regret what we did but rather the things we didn’t 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 completed the college degree she had begun all those months 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 us, by example, that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be.
REMEMBER: Growing older is mandatory. Growing up is optional.
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.”
“Seriously,” I asked, “what motivated you to take on this challenge at your age?”
“I’ve always dreamed of having a college education, and now I’m finally 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 experiences with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon. She made friends wherever she went, loved to dress up, and reveled in the attention bestowed upon her by other students. She was truly 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 that day. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, her 3x5 cards slipped from her hands and scattered across the floor.
Frustrated and a little embarrassed, she leaned into the microphone and 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:
1. You have to laugh and find humor every day.
2. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
3. There’s a huge difference between growing older and growing up.
If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year without doing one productive thing, you will turn twenty. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year, 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.
4. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t regret what we did but rather the things we didn’t 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 completed the college degree she had begun all those months 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 us, by example, that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be.
REMEMBER: Growing older is mandatory. Growing up is optional.
