It is the year of the dragon. The dragon, a symbol of power, brings optimism, Chinese astrologists say.

Yes, be excited. It's going to be good.

So why then, I wonder, am I reading all things morbid? Like an article about how doctors die.

Some doctors choose to "go gently into that good night" without what they call futile care - countless treatments that are often unpleasant and expensive .

Perhaps my four-year-old daughter's insistence that I'll soon be a granny has made me think about my mortality.

She shows me, grinning wickedly, what I will look like as she hunches over a make-believe walking stick and hobbles across a room. Why does she imagine this?

Neither of her grannies resemble her depiction. They're both youthful-looking, with decent postures.

I think my daughter is being mean. Have I done something wrong? Or maybe she wants to fast-forward her life and be a mother, prematurely making me a hobbling granny.

What I believe is my daughter's doing, I was also led to seemingly depressing reading regardingthe top five regrets of people on their deathbeds.

An Australian palliative nurse, Bronnie Ware, recorded the thoughts of dying patients. Themes which resurfaced regularly were: I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me; I wish I hadn't worked so hard; I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings; I wish I'd stayed in touch with my friends; and I wish I'd let myself be happier.

So, I would like to tell my daughter the following: I won't become the hobbling granny you want me to be. You won't live a life of luxury. I will express my feelings and will neglect you more frequently to spend time with my friends.

I will be happy despite your attempts to make me feel miserable. And my happiness is assured by the dragon. So weh!