(Letter to the Editor - Graphic Illustration/MetroCreativeConnection)

On New Year’s Eve, I was talking with a nice woman at the next table. She told me she enjoyed watching my husband and I dance. She said we must have been together for a long time. I told her 51 years but he didn’t always dance because of his family’s faith when he was growing up. Later on, he not only started dancing with me but we did ballroom dancing and taught line dancing for over 10 years. I commented you like watching us now you should have seen us 10-15 years ago. Once again, my mind went off onto age and time left. I quickly tried to recover by saying it’s our time to get old and make way for the young people as I thought of my grandchildren.

Children, grandchildren and for some of us great-grandchildren are our future. They are the ones who keep us young at heart and will keep our memories alive after we are gone. My son made a beautiful memory book about my mom’s life for me at Christmas. He is helping keep my mom alive with memories.

Each time grandchildren visit for a play date with Grandma or have a sleepover they bring such joy. The memories we make give me positive things to focus on when I start feeling old. When they grow up, I hope they will look back on the time we had together and remember something they liked doing with me. My family has a lot of love they share with one another. I hear of families who seldom see each other or don’t get along. It is difficult for me to totally understand how they can stand to miss out on all this free happiness. I have a friend who has no children or grandchildren that always tells me how lucky I am. I am so very thankful for every minute I can share with these wonderful young people.

In the last few months, my strength and abilities have slowed down a great deal. I have had to accept I cannot do it all anymore and need help once in a while. On occasion I have resorted to taking a cane with me for balance, something I was certain was years away. Lately, each time I start feeling old I find myself comparing what I look like now at 70 and a photo of me only 9 years ago dressed rather provocatively at Halloween. 60 but I looked maybe 40, standing straight, hair still naturally light brown, and turning eyes at the party while my husband said, “You’re not taking that jacket off.” Then I tell myself, “It’s OK. You looked much younger than your age most of your life. The change has been hard over the last 10 years but you still played badminton with your grandchildren last summer. You went zip-lining with your son and daughter. You still can fix Grandma’s little pancakes and grilled cheese sandwiches, bake cookies, play board games or blow bubbles, do crafts and all the other things my children and grandchildren know I love doing for them and with them.”

I have been blessed with the best life has to offer. Children’s love.

Often, I’ve shared and done things with neighbor children. If you don’t have your own local children or grandchildren, give your neighbor a break and borrow theirs. It will be a “win-win” situation. Make memories with a young person today.

Bonnie Eaton

Vienna