One common currency we older adoptive parents share is the likelihood that our mothers and fathers are longer in the tooth than most parents of twenty- and thirty-something moms and dads, while our kids are younger than those our peers are close to finished raising. This makes our version of the "Sandwich Generation" an even more dramatic example of how tough it can be to care for parents and children... more

It's been a while since I've written about my assistant, Catherina, and it's time for an update. Because I'm of a certain age ... so conserving of my energy ... a mom to two little ones, work at home and have a big house in the back of beyond in the bush in Seychelles, I both deserve and need someone to help me around the house, with the kids and to run errands. We hired Catherina back in October, not knowing that she... more

Yesterday being Cj's second birthday and all, I've been spending a lot of time thinking back over our history together.

I can easily remember the time before Sam had a little sister, and the thought process that brought us to our second adoption.... more

Sometimes I am almost knocked sideways by the bits of my life that seem miraculous. Bouts of "How in the world did I get so lucky?", and such not only give me pause, they put a pause in my pauses, and reflecting on the circumstances that carried me from Point A to the Point B I live now is a practice in deep meditation on the wonders of the universe. Case in point:

I am three months away from my fifty-sixth birthday, and last night I celebrated the second anniversary of my daughter's birth. Yep. I put two little... more

Those of us a bit further along the winding and oh-so-interesting path of life than we used to be ... yes, I'm talking older, but euphemisms go a long way toward taking the sting out of the reality ... can find that the part of the trail that wanders on past the middle offers some bumps, health-wise, we need to be aware of if we're to negotiate them well enough to raise kids as we move along. There are not only bumps of the painful shingles variety,... more

Continued from here, where we've been talking about the nasty and painful effects of shingles.

There is, apparently, some stress component to shingles, as a recent study has shown that people who practice the relaxing combination of mind and muscle that is tai chi have a significantly high level of immunity to the Varicella zoster virus. The... more

With an outbreak of chicken pox in the schools in town being all the talk among parents in Seychelles at the moment, the varicella zoster virus (VZV) sounded like perfect blog fodder. VZV is the miserable little creep that causes chicken pox, then can rear its ugly head years later and bring about a very painful case of herpes zoster, otherwise known as shingles. Although as older parents we could experience the double whammy of having both versions crop up at home at the same time, if we do come down in shingles we can't blame... more

Continued from here where I've been counting my friends amongst my blessings. Audie runs casinos, and is now working in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. When he was living in Seychelles, he was in charge of the casino down on our end of the island. Unmarried and with one grown son, his life was and is the footloose and fancy free one of a night owl.

As surprising as it may sound to people in the know about my life now ...... more

For all my kvetching about guests, I'm usually very happy to have visitors.

A dear old friend arrived yesterday and is serving as a wonderful reminder of what can be great about breaks in the routine, long conversations, leisurely dinners and prompts for time on the beach. Of course, he's not actually staying WITH us, and that automatically makes him easier to host, but I will be spending as much time as possible with him during... more

I'm a big fan of marriage. I must be -- I've done it three times.

But seriously, folks ... An article from The Californian that addresses the potential for kids to lose out on positive male role models when divorce divides a family and gives suggestions on how to help build a child's self-esteme under difficult circumstances ... like when Mom can no longer stand the sight or thought of Dad, but Junior needs to grow... more