"Good friends are like quilts-they age with you, yet never lose their warmth."

I've seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon, before they understood the great freedom that comes with ageing.

Whose business is it if I choose to read, or play on the computer, until 4am, or sleep until noon?  I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 50s, 60s and 70s, and if I , at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love, I will.

I will walk on the beach in a swimming suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves, with abandon, if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.  They too will get old.

I know I'm sometimes forgetful.  But there again some of life is just as well forgotten.  And eventually I remember the important things.

Over the years my heart has been broken.  How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one or when a child suffers or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car?

But broken hearts are what give use strength and understanding and compassion.  A heart never broken is pristine and sterile, and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I'm so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning grey, and to have my youthful laughs to be for ever etched into deep grooves on my face.  So many have never laughed and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older it's easier to be positive.  You care less about what other people think.  I don't question myself any more.  I'v even earned the right to be wrong.

So to answer your question, I like being old; it's set me free.  I like the person I've become. I'm not going to live for ever but while I'm still here I won't waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be.  And I shall eat chocolate every single day (if I feel like it).