This interesting item on old age was found on the Internet.

The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old! Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder it and let her know.

Old age, I decided, is a gift.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometimes despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror, but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, or my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly.

As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed.

I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

I have seen too many friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the water with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.

They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. Yes! But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten.

And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, 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 us strength and understanding and compassion.

A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into grooves on my face.

So many have never laughed enough, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think.

I don't question myself any more. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer the question -- I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become.

I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be.

And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it.)

Dorothy Nelson lives and writes in Auburn