When you are a child, you value love.  Love of your mother when she holds you in her arms.  Love of your father when he pushes you on a swing.

When you are a teenager, you value freedom.  Freedom to take that first drive alone in your car. Freedom to go away to college to live on your own without your parents.

When you are an adult, you value time.  Time with your family.  Time to do the things you enjoy.

When you are old, you value love, freedom, and time.
Love from your children who seem too busy for you.
Freedom from a body that won’t allow you to take a simple walk without pain.
Time to do all the things you never did.
But most of all when you are old, you value the choice to make your own decisions.

http://www.theresadodaro.com   Author of The Tin Box Trilogy