photo #8900289

I’m not afraid of time passing. Wrinkles don’t offend me, sagging skin doesn’t embarrass me, and white hair doesn’t speak to me of death, but of history. I don’t fear a slower step, nor a memory that stumbles over a detail… But yes, there is one fear I have: becoming a burden. I don’t want my old age to be lived at the cost of someone else’s patience. I don’t want helping me to become a duty that marks the faces and weighs on the shoulders of those I love. I don’t want my hands to tremble more from discomfort than from years. I want my final journey to be walked with dignity. I want my days to still carry the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the sound of rain against the window. I want the freedom — hard-won — not to be taken from me by absolute dependence. I want my old age to remain mine. I want to keep laughing, even if my body aches. To keep learning, even if my memory wavers. To keep loving, even as my strength fades. I am not afraid of growing old. I’m afraid that one day fate will place me in a corner where my presence weighs more than my love. Because when my final breath arrives, I want to leave this world as life — not as a burden. Credit: Monica smith