The Upside to Getting Older

This is an essay prompted by another by the same title: http://simplerich.blogspot.com/
I am a fan of getting older for many reasons.  When I was young, I wanted a lot of things.  Now, I can look back and see that I did some of them.
I wanted to graduate from college.  My uncle did.  But I really didn't know anybody else in my family who did.  Nobody in my family said I should go.  In fact, my dad said I didn't need to go to college.  So I took college prep classes and business classes in high school because I thought that meant he wasn't going to pay.  He did, but I didn't know he was going to until I had saved enough to pay for the first year.  
Check.
I wanted to get married and stay married to the same person.  I wanted the person to share some of my interests and want to grow old with me.
Check.
I wanted to have kids.  I wanted the kids to grow up to be responsible people who could rip a place for themselves that they wanted, using tooth and nail, education, determination, whatever it took.  I wanted the kids to be able to develop relationships that last.  Having kids is scary.  I did the best I could, but it was difficult to know if I was doing it right.  I'm not the smartest person I know...but I'm one of the most determined.
Check.
I wanted to travel and see places I'd read about.
Check.
I wanted to have a job to go to that I enjoyed.
Check.
I wanted to have flowers.
Check.
I wanted to not be homeless when I got old.
Check...so far.
Yeah, I'm a fan of getting older.  When I was younger, all of that was in the I want category.  I like knowing that I got a lot of what I wanted:)