As Dolly Parton approaches her 80th birthday, she candidly reflected on the realities of aging. In an interview with People magazine, the iconic singer shared her thoughts following the recent loss of her husband, Carl Dean, and her own health struggles that prompted her sister to seek prayers from the public.

Parton remarked, “People say, ‘Well, you’re going to be 80 years old.’ Well, so what? Look at all I’ve accomplished in those years. I feel like I’m just beginning. I know it may sound silly, but as long as my health holds up—and right now, I’m doing fine—I’m not worried.”

She continued, emphasizing her view on aging: “There’s much to be said about age. If you let yourself feel old, you will. I always say, ‘I haven’t got time to get old!’ Dwelling on it is not on my agenda. That’s simply not where my focus is.”

Addressing rumors about her health on Instagram, the “Jolene” singer reassured her followers with a playful retort: “I’m not dead yet! Do I look sick to you?”

Parton has been dealing with kidney stones, a condition currently being managed by her medical team. Although her sister Freida called for prayers, Dolly confidently stated she’s not in need of them.

She said last month: “Well, today’s October 8 and obviously I’m here… Do I look sick to you? I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease, those that seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate – and I appreciate your prayers, because I’m a person of faith, I can always use the prayers for anything and everything – but I want you to know that I’m okay.

“I’ve got some problems, as I’ve mentioned, back when my husband Carl was very sick – that was for a long time – and then when he passed I didn’t take care of myself, so I let a lot of things go that I should have been taking care of… nothing major, but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home.”

She said: “I’m not dying! There’s just a lot of rumours flying around.”