Hi Handsome, my name is Rose

A friend of mine sent me this today, and I thoughtour
subscribers would like it, I hope you do.

I have talked about the concept of Wistful Regret for
many years. Hot regret is decisions we made in the
momenet, we wish we handn’t.

Wistful regret is when people come to the end of their
life and wish they hand taken more chances, not played
it safe. They wish they had had a dream and went after
it.

START OF EMAIL.
On 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 a little 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 humour
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 t
hem, but you know they are always there.’