Country music legend Dolly Parton said she has no plans to slow down as she approaches her 80th birthday, telling People magazine she “ain’t got time to get old.”
The singer, songwriter, and philanthropist will mark the milestone Jan. 19.
Speaking to People in a story published Nov. 12, Parton laughed off concerns about turning 80.
“Everybody says, ‘Well, you’re going to be 80 years old.’ Well, so what?” Parton said. “Look at all I’ve done in 80 years. I feel like I’m just getting started.
“I know that sounds stupid, but I think there’s a lot to be said about age. If you allow yourself to get old, you will.
“I say, ‘I ain’t got time to get old!’ I ain’t got time to dwell on that. That’s not what I’m thinking about.”
While Parton said she remains focused on her work, she acknowledged the significance of reaching 80.
“There is a celebration in the fact that I have done so much in that time and that I’m still doing it. I’m grateful for that,” she said.
The interview came two months before Parton postponed a planned series of Las Vegas concerts, citing medical advice to undergo several procedures.
In a Sept. 28 post on Instagram, she told fans she needed more time to recover.
“As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures,” she wrote. “While I’ll still be able to work on all of my projects from here in Nashville, I just need a little time to get show ready, as they say.”
Parton assured fans that she intends to return to the stage once she recovers.
“Don’t worry about me quittin’ the business because God hasn’t said anything about stopping yet,” she wrote. “But I believe he is telling me to slow down right now so I can be ready for more big adventures with all of you.”
Parton lost her husband of nearly six decades, Carl Thomas Dean, who died in March at age 82.
“Of course that’s the hardest loss that anyone could ever have – to lose the one you love the most,” she told People.
Parton said her forthcoming stage musical, “Dolly: A True Original Musical,” has helped her find comfort.
“When I watch the show, it’s healing in its way. It’s almost like he’s never gone. So now he’ll always be here, not just for me but in the minds of other people,” she said. “Just seeing all those points in my life and how that has affected me, it’s been healing in a way.
“But it’s made me appreciate my life and all the people more.”
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