Funny story. A couple of years ago when I started blogging regularly for Adoption.com, I was offered a chance to blog in this Older Parent forum. I said no because I thought that, well, being “older” didn’t really matter in my life. Ahem. Well, here I am, humbled, and looking forward to sharing here with you. Unless there’s age reversal, I’m in that group now.
I’m 53 and have been married to Dear Hubby for 16 years. All our children are adopted, the first two from traditional infant adoption (agency) and the last 3 from foster care. My kids have nicknames on the blog so their friends won’t Google them here. Pepper (a girl) is 15 and halfway through driver’s ed. Sunshine (a girl) is almost 14 and a phenom on the ball field – they’re the “Bigs.” The Captain (a boy) is 5, Tinker (a girl) is 4, and The Blitz (a boy) is 3; they’re the “Littles.” I was 38 when we got Pepper; she was 3 weeks old and in the 6 months before her, we’d had 3 disrupted adoption plans. I was in the delivery room with Sunshine. The Littles came to us as foster kids: a sibling group who had been separated and reunited, and then, shockingly, we got to keep them! They’ve been in our home 2-1/2 years. It was definitely the right thing to do and it is definitely reminding me that I am OLD!
I’ve gotten used to being 10 years older than all the parents of our big girls’ friends. I’m going to be 20 years older than the Littles’ friends’ parents, and that is going to take some getting used to! We had a little foster child last year, Puddin’, who called me “Meemaw.” That was fine with me, especially when I read her paperwork and realized I’m ten years older than her birth grandma!
I have lost some weight in the last couple of years, so for a while, it seemed like I was getting younger, but with the three Littles all now walking, talking (back), and getting into mischief, that reversal seems to have stalled. I am trying to blast off the last 50 pounds and see if I can get the time machine moving in the other direction again soon. But unless I have an actual age reversal miracle, I’ll be here a few times a month commiserating with you. Until I see you again, here’s a Father’s Day picture of Dear Hubby and the Fab Five. Nice to “meet” you.
Do you feel there is a hole in your heart that can only be filled by a child? We’ve helped complete 32,000+ adoptions. We would love to help you through your adoption journey. Visit Adoption.org or call 1-800-ADOPT-98.
