The first
day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get
to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a
gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I turned
around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile
that lit up her entire being.. She said, 'Hi handsome. My name is Rose.
I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?'
I laughed
and enthusiastically responded, 'Of course you may!' and she gave me a
giant squeeze.. 'Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?'
I asked. She jokingly replied, 'I'm here to meet a rich husband, get
married, and have a couple of kids...'
'No
seriously,' I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be
taking on this challenge at her age. 'I always dreamed of having a
college education and now I'm getting one!' she told me.
After class
we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate
milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three
months, we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always
mesmerized listening to this 'time machine' as she shared her wisdom and
experience with me...
Over the
course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made
friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the
attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it
up.
At the end
of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll
never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to
the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her
three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and embarrassed she leaned
into the microphone and simply said, 'I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave
up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my
speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.'
As we
laughed she cleared her throat and began, ' We do not stop playing
because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only
four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You
have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When
you lose your dreams, you die.
We have so
many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it! There is
a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are
nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one
productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven
years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn
eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or
ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change.
Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did,
but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are
those with regrets..'
She
concluded her speech by courageously singing 'The Rose.' She challenged
each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At
the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those
months ago.
One week
after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand
college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman
who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can
possibly be.
When you
finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your
friends and family, they'll really enjoy it! These words have been
passed along in loving memory of ROSE.
REMEMBER,
GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. We make a Living by
what we get. We make a Life by what we give.
God promises
a safe landing, not a calm passage. If God brings you to it, He will
bring you through it. Pass this message on to 7 people. You will receive
a miracle tomorrow (if you don't think so....look out your window when
you wake in the morning and think about it)
If you
choose not, then you refuse to bless someone else. 'Good friends are
like stars... You don't always see them, but you know they are always
there.'
