Growing old is a precarious business.

Growing up is a precarious business.  It should come with a big warning label that reads “grow up at your own risk”, or “growing up may be injurious to your health”. In the least, it should come with a user’s manual, money-back guarantee, or an “Escape” Or “Undo” button, won’t you agree?

It almost sneaks up on you. You are young and wild one day, and all saddled up the other. Before you know it, you are blowing out way too many candles on your birthday cake, or menacingly plucking the greys, battling bills, shuffling jobs, paying mortgage, finding yourself way too often in places and in situations you just don’t want to be in. You want to run to the bathroom and just scream, “Mommy, I wanna go home” (Or wait, you never do that, do you? It’s only me…Right…moving along!)

I am not entirely sure when “growing up” turns into just “growing older”, cause that precise age varies for different people. To me, the part that absolutely sucks, is that after having enjoyed the fruits of youth, growing older, is just so “in your face”. The first to go is your 20/20 vision, followed by a slowly retarding health. Losing your memory is only the last slap in your face. You are like, “after all this you could have at least spared me the memory!”

Sorry, I am not painting a very pretty picture about growing up (apologies to those who still have “growing up” to do), am I? But difficult to believe as it may be, the dark clouds do come with a silver lining.  Age brings with it the gift of wisdom and humility. It gives you the maturity to treasure time, family and friends. It gives you the confidence to know, that in the end, reaching the destination is worthless if the journey is not fun.

So here is an advice, do all the growing up you need to, but keep the inner child alive. So that one day, you can look back and say with pride, “Look how far I have come and how much fun I had along the way”.

Inspired by Daily Post