Three out of four of my children have birthdays on the 10th of a month. This month, the 10th was on Saturday and the birthday was Sam's.

Yes, my baby boy is now a five-year old kid, and although in one direction that sounds young, it seems darned grown up in a whole bunch of ways, and a baby he most certainly is not.

Home at just 13 weeks, I still miss every one of those days, and although he was certainly well treated, cuddled, fed and loved, almost every one was spent in an orphanage. That is reality, and nothing ever can or should change his path ...... more

I have shamelessly used the total cuteness of kids and dogs before for Love Thursday, but that most certainly will not preclude me trotting out both again when a new litter makes an appearance ... and it has.

Dinah gave birth without a fuss the night before last to eight adorable Rottweiler miniatures that, for the moment, look more like tiny baby seals ... and thank heaven she did!

The kids have been going bananas waiting the sixty-three days of canine gestation,... 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

Having a hard day? Is your husband pressuring you into trading sex for getting him to do something that needs doing around the house? Has your child just vomited on the floor, but you're so tired your ignoring the mess and hoping the dog eats it? Has your baby not slept in so long that you find yourself contemplating putting a shot of something in the sippy cup?

Well, how happy would you be to learn that you are SO not alone? Happy enough to slog through the depths of other peoples' misery to make yourself feel better?

... 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

I am well aware of the fact that many adopted children have problems with sleeping. Early horrors may have some too fearful of the vulnerability of the sleep state to let go of conscious control and have too highly developed a defensive posture to drift off.

Some are simply always wired to the max through whatever version of alphabet soup describes the damage done to them, and have to run until they drop, often taking everyone in the household along with them for both the run and the drop.

Kids that spent too many nights falling asleep hungry can again and... 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

Not as it is needed, or will be appreciated, but for everyone living the life of a Boomer, and those poor souls that have to follow our act, here's something to add to your list of worries ... inflation.

In this article in the Washington Post, you can read all about how your well-considered plans for financial comfort in your old... more

It would not be a stretch for any child of mine to be a nature lover. My environmental credentials go back a long way, and taking every opportunity presented to give a lesson on the importance of the natural world usually has me expounding on some aspect of ecology or another many times in any given week.

These days, it's Sam that gets the brunt of my green-ness, and because conversations about biology, botany, geology and marine science ... amongst others ... have been happening with and around him since infancy, he's already well educated and deeply appreciative of... more

Confusion seems to be a perpetual state for me this week, and although I'm not really comfortable carrying so many conflicting thoughts around with me all at the same time, I figure it is a good sign that I'm staying flexible and open minded. Given my age and obstinacy it would be an easy thing to slip into a mindset like a pair of cement overshoes and reject out of hand any thoughts that don't dovetail conveniently with what is already well entrenched, so letting rampant... more