One of the signs of passing youth is the birth of a sense of fellowship with other human beings as we take our place among them. Virginia Woolf

(Well, that and the realization that Mick Jagger will be sixty-four later this month ... and looks more like Barney Fife in spandex every year ... when it's so easy to recall him, and Keith Richards, being cute young things.)

Brian May, the 59-year-old composer and founder of ... more

"Do you know how old you'll be when that kid is a teen?"

Heard that? Yeah ... I'll be you have.

Does it scare you? No?

What? Are you simple, or something? Because it certainly should!

Not that your status as an older adoptive parent should be the root of all fear. No. Any parent of any age should tremble at the thought of sharing space with raging hormones, perceptions of wisdom far beyond what years would indicate, and the potential for mistakes with dire and life-long consequences.

Teens are scary,... more

Anyone traveling soon might want to brush up a bit on the problem of deep vein thrombosis, venous thromboembolism (VTE), since the WHO just issued warnings again in its Research Into Global Hazards of Travel project.

Referring back to the first of today's posts, the WHO says, "Travellers can take "common-sense" measures to reduce the risks of contracting... more

Cleaning up some corners of the desk today, I've come across some bits and pieces of information other geezer parents might find interesting or helpful. I'm particularly fond of this bit about common sense from the Earthtimes.

Common sense being a somewhat illusive attribute, simple to recognize but difficult to define, a recent study set out to identify just how the no-nonsense approach to life actually works, and to, "... pinpoint the... more

As I was settling down into my hammock, book in hand but eyelids heavy, the thought drifted across my mind that napping would be a good blog topic for the day.

I've always been fond of the mid-day snooze, so it's not a geezer-inspired activity ... activity? ... in my case. I recall coming home from high school and stretching out for half and hour or so, happily dropping off and waking refreshed and ready for whatever teen festivities might present.

All these years later, and a daily dip into... more

A couple of stories in the news about older parents need talking about today. The first, this one that asks the question, "How old is too old?".

It's grandparents raising a child this time, and they must not have been spring chicken-ish when the son who is dad to the little one was little, as they're now 89 and 86, and have been parenting the child off and on almost since birth a... more

Although the title of this post does make it sound like I'm about to take off on the hilarious thread going on over on the geezer adoptive parent group, GAARP, about adoption from other planets ... I'm asking permission now to post some of the amazingly creative comments here as a testament to the brilliance of older adoptive parents ... this will be a rather down-to-earth composition.

(If you are looking for writing from me on interplanetary adoption,... more

A new study out of the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research is indicating that older moms are the happiest group of women in the country.

After examining nearly 6, 000 women, the result appears to be that, " ... it's not so much whether you have children as when you have them", as the next happiest group consisted of older women without kids, with young mothers... more

We haven't had much in the way of science here for a while, so today is the day we do some catching up. Starting off with some encouraging news for moms and dads of the older persuasion, this report letting us know that pre- and post-menopausal women are equally responsive to most sexual desire cues ... something to take into account when you're thinking of adopting as an older parent, since you're certainly not over it and a little one does make... more

Although a bit confusing when one tries to unravel how the two groups are defined, a new study suggests that mothers and daughters view retirement in very different ways. Anyone hoping to figure out which category they fit will first have to calculate if they're Generation X (b. 1965-1977), late Baby Boomers (b. 1956-1964), early Baby Boomers (b. 1946-1955), the Silent Generation (b.1933-1945) and the World War... more