I just got this in an email and thought I'd share it .

 George Carlin's Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. "How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key. You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. "How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!! But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed? You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone. But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would! So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60. You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92." Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!" May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay "them "

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets,keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable,improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9 Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10.Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

I love it! I have loved the game since I was in elementary school. Maybe because I was always a tall person and that is always an advantage in this game?? I watched another winning game hosted by my beloved Pistons last night, and when I tried to go to sleep all I could do was think about basketball. How weird is that for a middle aged woman? When I was in ninth grade a few of us girls went out for the boys basketball team. We did this not because we thought we were as good as the boys team, but because back in the old days girls didn't have basketball teams of their own. We endured harassment from the coach...tougher than normal try-outs, harassment from the boys... excessive bumping, grabbing, you name it. In the end 2 girls made the team, I would have made the third but my father said the night before final cuts..."My daughter is NOT going to play on a boy's team!" I cried and pleaded, but nope Dad said no and meant it, so the next day I had to go tell the coach I had to quit. I supported my fellow sister-teammates by attending all the basketball games, and they even got to play a little and they did very well when given the opportunity. That is when I met my future husband #1. In the evenings I would go around the block where there was a basketball hoop and shoot until I couldn't see the basket any longer. I use to tease my Dad that the reason I got married so young was because he didn't let me play basketball in school and was around the block playing & met Terry...my own way of hurting his feelings the way he did mine by not letting me play. . Last night while my husband and I watched the Pistons win another game, I told him about how my Dad loved basketball and was the biggest Piston fan ever. Like few fans, Dad watched regardless of whether they were 25-4 like they are this year, or if they were 4-25. But when they were winning like they are now, he'd be beaming like he was their Daddy! So, last night as I was trying to go to sleep and thinking about basketball, I realized I guess why I originally began loving the game so much. Not because I was a tall girl, but because I knew my Dad loved it and if I could play and make him proud, I'd feel closer to him?? Maybe. But somehow I feel closer to him now, knowing I'm keeping up his Piston Love tradition. Just wish we could share a few more games together.