Accept your life the way it is and be happier

To the editor:

How many times have you heard someone say, "I'll never get that old." Well, don't be so sure. When my twin sister and I turned 15 years of age, I said to her, "Think how old we will be when we are 30 years of age." Now I more than triple that.

Never fear nor regret longevity. Think of it as living in two different eras, one as exciting, interesting and memorable as the other.

Picture, if you will, buying an ice cream cone stacked high with your favorite flavor. Give the clerk a dime and get a nickel back. Try going to a meat market today and asking for a roast big enough to serve six people. Give the butcher a dollar and get 25 cents back.

I remember wrapping a towel around a hot iron on cold winter nights to keep my feet warm. By morning, the iron was cold, and so were my feet.

I'll bet not many remember swallowing the piece of a large sugared onion warmed on top of a coal stove to cure a chest cold. Don't ask me how it tasted.

I have now put that part of my life behind me and have moved into an entirely new era that is beautiful, exciting, progressive and wonderful. I plan to enjoy each moment of it that I am allowed.

Try to accept life the way it is. You will find yourself happier and even a little wiser.

PAULA E. KEMPE

Cape Girardeau