Aging: Retirement years and Adoption!

by Mary
(CA)

I am 58 years old and retired. My husband is 65 and still working.

We feel young because 7 years ago we adopted a little girl, 18 months old from Vietnam.

We had raised four boys in a blended marriage and felt the loneliness of the empty nest syndrome.

Our daughter was such a joy for us that 4 years later we went back to Vietnam and brought home another little girl, 10 months old.

We cant help but feel young with all the activity constantly going on in our household. Both girls are now busy with school and gymnastics, the oldest competing all over the state, as well as dance, church and playdates.

It will be a long time before my husband can actually retire with all the expenses involved. Sometimes he gets pretty tired from all the activity and that makes him feel old.

As for me, when the arthritis sets in, or when the kids want to do something that I cant keep up with, I feel old.

The best example I can give is when they had a family fitness night at my daughters' gym. The girls breezed right through everything, but I couldn't even climb up on the balance beam. They had a race across the foam pit and I sunk and had to be pulled out.

Boy I felt really old that night.

But all in all I am grateful to have an active family to keep me young.

Now where did I put that geritol?