Geez, I have approached this holiday season the same way that I have approached all holiday seasons for years now. I have been doing the whole Christmas celebration with cards, and gifts, and decorations, and parties, and dinner, Christmas pagents, and church services, for years now. Sometimes it has been nerve wracking. Sometimes not. I've always managed to get through it without being completely pooped. Pretty pooped. But not tongue hanging out pooped.

This year, I am completely pooped. That's a little frustrating because as the years have gone by I have taken... more

You know people say that grandparents are so different from the way they were as parents? I didn't get to experience that with my own mother, but I can definitely say it was true for my father. I don't know how true it is for my father-in-law and my mother-in-law. I am sure there are some things about their grandparenting style that differs significantly from their parenting style when my husband and his brother were growing up.

When you hear people talk about the phenomenon of the grandparent shift it seems to make total sense. You know. The whole older,... more

The speech given tomorrow about today, 1941.

Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives:

Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in... more

There's a really funny post over on Citizen of the Month today.

He discusses how old you are based upon your knowledge of Britney Spears.

I've blogged about Britney before - mostly how I'm not a fan and that I think way too much press is given to her, but I felt like that about Madonna as well - (her singing - not her adoption status).

We just love celebrity lives, but I can't figure... more

Well, I haven't posted here on the Older Parent Adoption Blog for a couple of days because I have been having a devil of a time coming up with a topic that seems worth writing about. All I seem to keep coming back to is that a)I am an adoptive parent, b)I am old c) that makes me an older adoptive parent. Okay, so? And?

I know I could not have blogged about everything there is to blog about on this topic, but that's how I am feeling. I have written short posts. Longs posts. Funny posts. Serious posts. Posts with information and links that I thought were useful.... more

While we were at the beach for Thanksgiving I saw lots of grandmas frolicking with their grandchildren. Frolicking. I like that word. Yes, there were grandmas frolicking on the beach with their grandchildren. I like the imagery that conjures up. But wait a minute. Maybe they weren't grandmas. Maybe they were (tadadaDAHHHH! and cue echo sound effects here) older mommies on the beach running around with their children.

Nah. Couldn't have been. Not the sweet little old white haired ladies that I saw picking up shells, building sand castles, and... more

Continued from previous post...

I have written a bit about my mother-in-law who is sixty-eight and always on the go. When we last visited with her during the Thanksgiving holiday, my husband and I both noticed ever so subtle signs that she is aging. Nothing alarming, just simple things that are heralding the aging process for her particular body. Arthritis. Stiffness. Decreased flexibility and balance. Other little things. I think we were both caught a little off guard because I don't know a woman walking who is more health conscious than my mother-in-law.... more

I am one of those women who believes I will never grow old. Never, ever, ever. Mind you, there is absolutely nothing in my personal life experience that should lead me to this delusional conclusion. My mother died when she was only fifty-five years old. My father died when he was only sixty-seven years old.

Well,now that I think about it, perhaps that has something to do with my twisted thinking. Still, there is a qualitative difference. It is not that I think I will die young. It is just that I don't think I will ever grow old. And I should think that I... more

Friday is K's birthday. She'll be three.

Three.

Since she came into our lives when she was thirty days old, we've pretty much had her for her whole life.

Everyone tells me how the time flies.

It's true.

I'm in better shape now than I was three years ago, but I wouldn't have thought so then. I've lost ten pounds – enough to feel a difference.

Yesterday she was tired from walking so I put her on my shoulders and carried her home. I don't know if I could have done that three years ago.... more

Annie Leibovitz was a first time mom at age fifty one.

I love her.

And now I love her even more.

She’s had a great career, taking photos that sear into the souls of people – musicians, comedians, actors, politicians and regular folks too.

This photo of John and Yoko was taken just hours before Johns’ murder. Those of us reading this blog probably remember what we were doing when we heard about his death. Just like Kennedy, it’s a moment frozen in time for many of us.

The John – Yoko photo is one... more