So far I've enjoyed every stage of my journey. When I talk to my kids who have young families, I immediately think of Maurice Chevalier--"I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore." I loved it while it lasted. I look back at photographs and I think "Gee, I looked better than I thought I did at that time!" but I'm fine today with my sags and wrinkles and freedom to plan my day the way I want.
I don't know what will happen over the next decade or two, if I'm to be one of the lucky ones that fulfills the life expectancy numbers they quote. As for death, I hope I am ready when it comes, and I would not want my last thoughts about my life to be what my MIL's were: she told me a couple of days before she died: "I lived a wasted life." I still have things I want to do, and I don't want my work in Pharma to keep crowding those things out.
My son writes songs, and here are the lyrics to one of his songs, which speaks to the matter-of-factness with which I think I approach aging:
This is my rising moon
These are my crow’s feet
These are my laughing lines
A shadow on a charcoal street
This is my setting sun
This is my aging face
Smiling on and on
Flowers in a kitchen vase