THE ROSE
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 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 years 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.
'Good friends are like stars..........You don't always see them, but
you know they are always there.'
