| 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 cats.
 
 I will sit in my house on my well-worn chairAnd listen to my cats' breathing.
 I
                                    will sneak out in the middle
 Of a warm summer night
 And take my cats for a run,
 If my old bones will allow...
 
 When people come to call, I will smileAnd nod as I show them my cats
 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 sweatOn 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 cats 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 eyesFull of adoring love and hope
 That you will always stay,
 
 I'll hug their necksI'll kiss their dear sweet heads
 And whisper in their very
                                    special company
 
   I look in the MirrorAnd see I am getting old
 This is the kind of person I am
 And
                                    have always been.
 Loving cats is easy,
 They are part of me.
 
   Please accept me for who I am.My cats 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 cats to love too.
 
 ~Author Unknown
                                     GROWING OLD
                                  |