Juggling Life and Change

Segunda, daughter Angelita, and Argentine poodle Lady Piola have landed in their new digs, the pages of AARP.ORG/VIVA-and they like what they see.

Whew, that was some drop for Segunda, Angelita, and Lady Piola! Angelita realized-too late because she was reluctant to jump and Segunda had to push her beyond her comfort zone-that she forgot to pack her own parachute.

Perhaps in a case of art imitating life, my own daughter dove out of a plane a couple of weeks ago (WITH a parachute).

There's nothing like your own child taking the plunge to make you keenly aware of your role as mother to a 22-year-old who is making her own decisions. But that jump also reminded me how now, at 40..something, my second youth is an adventure and one that I'll need guidance to navigate successfully.

Like Segunda in this week's cartoon, we all manage many roles that require constant change. How do we achieve balance while making our second youth even better than our first? That's where AARP VIVA comes in-whether you've stopped in for our daily dicho (saying), weekly recipe, latest alerts and trends, social welfare issues, or travel,  book, and music recommendations. So take a look around, let us know what you think , how we can make it better, andm what you think about Segunda and her family .

In the meantime, I'm off to give my own poodle, Poe, (Isn't she adorable? Look at those eyes!) some of her favorite organic dog food before heading to a meeting, then lunch, then a date with. ...  more on that later.

Come back next week for another peek into Segunda's life with daughter Angelita and Argentine poodle Lady Piola.

Un abrazo,

Gaby