My Future Self: Chapter 1

When I have aged three quarters of a century, I hope to be just the way I am now at not quite one quarter of a century, with a few changes. My body will have aged, smile lines will cross my face, my hair will be white. I won’t walk quite as fast but I’ll just say I’m taking the scenic route. My knees will complain at the sight of every stair but I’ll take it one step at a time. My sight will dim and blur but with determination, bright light, and thick glasses no one will notice but me. My hearing, well it’s partly gone anyway, but I’ll have a little mechanical helper in my ear to make things louder for me. My heart, always loving, might not beat as strong as it once did. So I’ll take things slow, breath deep and remember my medicine. My memory will have faded like the color of my hair, but my trusty cell phone alarm will keep me posted.

My house will be mine, not belonging to any other. If I have my way, it will be in a beautiful country setting, shaded by great trees and away from the city noise. My day in that house, if I have retired, will be filled with music and my desk covered in thread clippings. Quilts and cross-stitched pictures will cover my walls as I spend my days crafting. My mornings I will spend in my garden for as long as my back will permit. My afternoons, if I’m not crafting, will be filled with the adventures that inhabit my favorite books.

The librarians will all know me by name and I’ll visit at least once a week. I will be well known at the theatre because I will go as often as I can afford. When the theatre is to costly, to the movies I will go. On occasion I will substitute at the high school nearest my home to make sure the children there know just how good they’ve got it. My weekends will be spent, I hope, with my children and grandchildren. If not, my husband and my animals will keep me company. My friends and I will get together and reminisce about the old days every week or so. Afterwards, I’ll try to remember the way I was when I was young and not be too hard on my children for not calling. When my husband goes fishing I won’t complain a bit, because I’ll be with him. When he tells fish stories at dinner or around the fire, I’ll just smile and let him talk.

I won’t really care about government, though my medical needs should be met. Local politics should interest me but probably won’t, I‘ve never understood it before. Hollywood fame is fleeting and I don’t know who’s who now anyway, so I won’t try to learn once I’ve aged. I’ll travel to see many places and things and be treated as a queen on a cruise. But I’ll make sure to travel during calm seasons, I don’t want to get too seasick.

When I have aged three quarters of a century, if me and mine are still alive, I will cherish every day that I have. Even though the days may seem bleaker and boring and I may be depressed about the way I’m declining. I will try to remember that I’m older and wiser, people respect their elders, age comes before beauty and I should have a great time because there’s many a good tune played on an old fiddle.