Grow Old With Dogs

When I am old
I will wear soft gray sweatshirts
and a bandana over my silver hair
and I will spend my social security checks on wine and my dogs.
I will sit in my house on my well-worn chair and listen
to my dogs' breathing.
I will sneak out in the middle of a warm summer night
and take my dogs for an ice cream, if my old car will allow.
When people come to call,
I will smile and nod as I show them my dogs
and talk of them and about them
the ones so beloved of the past
and the ones so beloved of today.

I will still work hard cleaning after them, mopping
and feeding them and whispering their names in a soft loving way.
I will wear the gleaming sweat on my throat, like a
jewel and I will be an embarrassment to all
especially my family
who have not yet found the peace
in being free to have dogs as your best friends.

These friends who always wait, at any hour, for your footfall
and eagerly jump to their feet out of a sound sleep, to
greet you as if you are a god.
With warm eyes full of adoring love and hope that you will always stay,
I'll hug their big strong necks.
I'll kiss their dear sweet heads
and whisper in their very special company.

I look in the Mirror
and see I am getting old
this is the kind of person I am
and have always been.
Loving dogs is easy,
they are part of me.
Please accept me for who I am.
My dogs appreciate my presence in their lives
they love my presence in their lives.
When I am old this will be important to me
you will understand when you are old
if you have dogs to love too.

~Author Unknown