Last week after I had my close friend Jeanne over to my house for dinner we decided to go for an evening walk.

After we walked a mile, I said I had to turn around and walk back home because my foot was too painful to continue.My dear friend stopped walking and looked at me with concern all over her face."Please tell me you're not going to grow old on me!" she said. "I couldn't stand it if you grow old!"Well, I sure do hope to grow old.We will all grow old - if we're lucky enough to live a long life.Growing old is inevitable for those who get the blessing of a long life.But what is not inevitable is to age before our time.We can't control how many years we will be given. But we can control how we live those years. And to a very great extent, how we live helps to determine whether or not we will have the grace of reaching old age.I don't just want to rack up years. I want to squeeze all the enjoyment I can out of every day I am given.I know I lead an active life where I get plenty of exercise. Since I'm Italian and enjoy eating a Mediterranean diet, that's on the plus side for my overall health.New studies that came out this week confirmed earlier ones that concluded a Mediterranean diet contributes to better health.Aside from my passion for pasta, I'm doing what I can to control how I age.I think we are all like seashells, each one lovely and unique. But no shells get to shore without a few cracks or flaws from the battering of the journey.My battering includes foot problems from an osteochondral lesion on my ankle.The only treatment that "might" help is surgery which is very often unsatisfactory for anyone older than 45.So I live with it by saying "no big deal." I'm grateful for the many mornings when I can walk without pain and I'm not going to obsess about times when I can't walk far.I'm one of those people who believe any ailment isn't as important as our attitude toward it.My dear friend Jeanne is used to my being the one who pulls others along to keep moving. She wants it to stay that way. Of course, I do too.But I'm a realist as well as an optimist.I believe when you can't do one thing, you do another. When walking hurts, biking works. And now that my pool is warm enough to swim, that opens up another venue of exercise.No one in my dancing crowd is afraid of getting old. The reason we aren't is because of dancers like Mel Clark and his sweetheart, Louise. They show us by example that growing old doesn't have to diminish life's fun.Last week dozens of us got together to honor Mel on his 97th birthday. There's an long-held belief that says, "dancing keeps you young." When I look around at the 70-, 80- and 90-year-old dancers I meet, I believe it must be true.If you're tempted to believe old age means frailty, I'll set you up to dance with Mel.When David and I go on to polka, we get tired when the polka goes on too long. But then we spy Mel energetically buzzing by us, smiling his trademark "I love life" grin.On his birthday, he danced with more than a half-dozen women, in addition to his sweetheart.When it was my turn, the band was playing a fast swing. I wasn't expecting how strong Mel was as he swung me around the floor. In fact, at one point when he did the "shove-off step" I flew so hard I landed on the floor. Not hurt, just surprised at the strength of the 97-year- old birthday boy."He gives us all hope," said one woman. She and her husband are three or four decades younger than Mel but they prefer to hang out with Mel and Louise."They love life, and when you're around them, you share their positive attitude," she said.See - it's not age that's something to fear.I'm what they call "a planner." I like to plan for stages in my life before they actually arrive. I planned for my retirement years way before it was time to retire.When I bought my Florida house, I planned for the future by picking a small, one-story cottage that would still work for me when I got old.My husband and I often talk about how we will adjust our hobbies when we get old. (We're still not there.)We might be able to kayak and bike forever. But perhaps not. So we keep saying we are going to get new hobbies when that time comes.We'll join our local photo clubs and spend more time taking pictures.The shelves in my garage are filled with thousands of seashells. When I get old, too old to run around like I do now, I'm going to do shell crafts.While I'm not old yet, I'm not afraid of growing old.Growing old is something we should embrace, not fear. After all, growing old is nothing more than the gift of a long life.Contact Pattie Mihalik at

newsgirl@comcast.net.