It's day 23 of National Blog Posting Month ... NaBloPoMo ... and I've been dutifully posting on my personal blog every single day on a wide variety of topics.

I blog every day, no matter what, either here, on the News Blog, the International Adoption Blog or the release vent that is my personal blog, so I didn't think this whole venture was going to have much... more

In the course of my now weekly massage, fodder for this geezer blog drifted to the edges of my consciousness as my friend J worked her muscle-moving magic on my old, tense self.

Funny, really, since J has only been giving me the treatment for the past month or so and we've been friends for years, but not until today did I realize I should be writing about her.

J is in her early 50s and hails from Switzerland, but lives in Seychelles most of the year and has done... more

I've come across some reports lately that address the daunting issue aging women face every morning, and continually through our days, weeks, months and years: the effects of time, gravity and other toxic substances on our poor old selves.

No, none of it is new or news, but even the most geezerish of us can provide fresh perspective from time to time, and it never hurts to gaze in someone else's mirror for a minute or two.

Way back in April of 2006, I wrote... more

Before I get to any other geezer parent stuff this morning, I would like to pass along something I received recently from a reporter for ABC News in Washington D.C..

Apparently, ABC is putting together a story on Boomers who are adopting and is looking for, "people over 55 who have recently (within the last 2 years) adopted young children" to interview for the piece.

If you are such a person, and you happen to live somewhere in the D.C. region, and you would be interested in participating, email Yunji.de.Nies@abc.com.

I feel I need to add a caveat here that advises any and all who might choose to throw themselves under the... more

When you were a child playing house, what sort of mommy or daddy did you look like in your head?

Were you June and Ward, all pearls and suits and "Wash up, boys!", while your little scamps got in to all sorts of hilarious and innocent high jinks that would unravel before their eyes, but come together within the alloted 22 minutes, usually about the time Father returned home?

Or the Nelson version of the same, where Harriet held down the tidy, calm, ultimately reasonable fort during the days as Ozzie vanished into a fog of... more

Still writing about my birthday for a moment or two longer, and wanted to add that thanks to Sam and Cj I am now able to jettison fifty-some years of unwrapping caution that was drilled into me by my mother. Ever the frugal and practical woman, in her world wrapping paper is not some disposable frippery meant for magical moments of mad mayhem in frenzied ripping. No way! It's a durable, reusable product meant to last for years, so to be handled not with kid hands, but with kid gloves.

Granted, shrinkage... more

Feeling like the pressures of parenthood are mounting?

Tired of struggling to stay awake with a new infant night after night?

Need a break?

Well, if you are in Australia ... or ready to pack up for a trip down under ... you, too, can join other mothers at the new $8 million, five-star "mother's retreat" in the Lavender Bay area of Sydney.

For a mere $1300 (US... more

I've just posted a comment on Jenna's blog about titles for parents, saying that if we're all going to pick the term we'd like to be referred to by, I pick "Enduring Mother".

'Adoptive parent' has always sounded a bit too legal-eze to me ... too little to do with heart and to much to do with paperwork to represent my reality. "Second mom" will not do, as it connotes second best, and although my kids each have a First Mother, I'm not pulling... 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