A young person asked me this: “Are there any good sides to getting old? I would love to hear about one of those for a change.”

Fair enough, young person. Here goes:

• I am delighted not to be you. I’ve been through your youthful angst and don’t want to survive it again. It’s the pits. In general, old people are far more tranquil; we’ve found our answers, for better or worse. You will, too, in the fullness of time.

• I no longer worry about getting pregnant.

• I am not obliged to tweet, post, like, snap, or tumble. It is not a mandatory part of the silver-hair culture. It is merely assumed I don’t know how to tweet, post, etc., at my age. Not nice, but not hurtful. But for you? If you don’t snap, like, etc. it is assumed you are the biggest loser in the popularity department. I guess the moral of this is that life never gets fair, but it does get to the point where you don’t give a fig.

• Nobody laughs if I don’t follow a fashion trend, in fact they would laugh if I did. I like jeans that come up to my waist and that don’t have holes in the knees when I purchase them. If I have a bad hair day it is exactly like every other day. ‘Fitting in’ is not the driving force it used to be. It’s very freeing. You will love it, my young friend.

• I have no career goals. If I am found stabbed in the back, you will know a coworker didn’t do it. I don’t have coworkers anymore.

• Anxiety and stress are miserable regardless of your age. But time pressure is less debilitating these days. I can take the dog for a walk later. Unpacking can wait another day. In the greater sense, time is shorter, of course. But tick to tock, not every second is jammed with must-get-dones.

• Like Blanche DuBois, I now depend on the kindness of others. Unlike Blanche, I often get it. Someone with a younger back carries the heavier suitcases.

• I get a bucket of pleasure out of very little. A parrot with a Popsicle stick … a big batch of library books … a groaner from my brother-in-law … sitting and looking at all the marvels there are to sit and look at on the Olympic Peninsula. Gosh, with so much to do, I might start feeling pressured again. I better go take a nap.

Linda B. Myers is a founding member of Olympic Peninsula Authors and author of seven novels including the PI Bear Jacobs mystery series. All are available at amazon.com. Contact her at myerslindab@gmail.com or Facebook.com/lindabmyers.author.