Tell us about yourself

[Adrianne Matzkin]

I am 54, married to Mark for 30 years next week!! Mark and I work together and Suzanne, our eldest, works for us. Marissa & her husband, Seamus, live in Pittsburgh but I am hoping they move back to NJ soon. Mark & I have spent the pst 6 weeks in Miami Beach on a working vacation. We drove down so we could Samantha with us.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Hi
My husband and I are 62, married for 40 years, live in southern CA, and are nowhere near retired. We have two grown children, our son lives in SanDiego, about 2-3 hours form us and our daughter just moved back to Ca after 8 years in NH. It is soooo nice to see her more often. My doodles are great company for me as my husband works long hours and travels. Usually they are laying or playing right beside me, right at this minute they are outside though as Roo took an unathorized swim -brrr - and is drying. We love walking our doodles as it is something we can do together and both enjoy.

[Linda and Murphy]

I am 55 and divorced for 2 years (nothing like doing that along with Katrina). I do medical research at Tulane and have been there 19 years. I have a 19 year old son who is a freshman at Louisiana Tech and a 23 year old son who just got his masters from Purdue in December. (He is temporarily living back home.)
I have a degree in Medical Technology and Geology and I am currently working on my masters in Environmental Public Health.
I got Murphy the summer after Katrina. He has been my Katrina Therapy.
I have committed to go on a mission trip to Alaska in June and my biggest concern is being without Murphy for 8 days!

[Adrianne Matzkin]

You can send Murphy to stay with Auntie A and Samantha! We would love the company. Obviously, we live too far away but the invitation is sincere.
Sorry to repeat myself if you read this in DK - DH and I were going to ur Florida apartment for 2 weeks. Decided to drive instead of fly so we could have Samantha with us. I truly inderstand how distressing the thought is to be seperated from Murphy.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I am 57 and have been divorced for many years. My 29 year old daughter moved back in with me several years ago with my grandson, who is almost 10. I also have an adult son who travels for work and has his own apartment near me. I retired from personal training two years ago, and now work part-time doing bookkeeping to generate some extra income in these lovely economic times. My daughter works full-time, so I help out with driving my GS to & from school, homework, etc. I have a very quiet life. I like gardening, reading, and spending time with a few good friends. I also try to stay involved with dog rescue. I hate to travel, and haven't taken a trip since 1997. I gave up on the dating scene quite a few years ago, and now lavish all my affection on a really good looking, big blonde guy named Jackdoodle!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I can't believe I am actually 59. My DH and I were high school sweethearts and have been married close to 37 years. Both of us were born and raised in Riverside, California and teach elementary school. We have 3 dogs - lab mix, Simon, 10; English Springer, Gordie, 5; and spoiled little doodle, Ned, 1 in two weeks. We have 3 grown children. Our oldest went to college when our youngest went. She has done really well and he, well,,,, he was back after a year and attending community college. He has re-applied for September - let's keep our fingers crossed. Our middle child is the only married one. He and his wife live nearby. We have an RV and often have all 4 kids, and 5 dogs for trips - luckily those are most often short trips - Can you imagine the doggie smell since only one is a doodle??!!! Our kids were heavily involved in sports and taking Ned on play dates fills in some of the time we spent watching, driving, feeding, helping all those speedo-clad food magnets.

[Kay and Roman]

What a great idea for a group!! My husband of 35 years, Al, and I live in Boise, ID, and are in our late 50's. We have been empty nesters for a couple of years since our son graduated from college and moved into his own place. We had a dog and cat while our two children (ages 26 and 29) were growing up but have been without a family pet for about three years. We've really missed the companionship, love, and happiness that a pet brought to our lives. Although my husband is still working, at least for a few more months, I retired a year and a half ago and have been looking forward to a puppy joining our family, especially now that I have a lot more time to spend training and caring for a puppy.

And...it's finally happening!! We pick up our little labradoodle girl in April. I can hardly wait!!! It's been such fun reading a lot of the posts on DK and learning/relearning about the trials and tribulations of puppyhood!! I'm sure there will be days...but I know it will be wonderful having a doodle fill that void in our lives. :o)

[Adrianne Matzkin]

It is a fantastic time in your life to get a puppy. You have the time, patience and understanding to raise a puppy without all the turbulence of kids and their schedules. It is so different to raise a puppy when they have your undivided attention. It has been a wonderful journey for us. I am sure it will be for you, too. We can't wait to see your pictures and share your stories.

[Karen & Lucy]

OMGoodness Adrianne, what a great idea for a group. I wish I would of thought of this. BUT after reading everyone's bio I feel like the OLD WOMAN here. Here goes....... I am ( I hate to even say it because I don't feel it ) 62 years young. I married my DH, Blair, 2 weeks after I graduated from high school. We will be married 44 years on June 19th. WOW, I do feel old now after saying all that !!!!!!!! I have 2 beautiful and wonderful daughters each giving us 3 grandchildren, 2 GG and 4 GS. How much we love them. Yes, I went through the "emty nester" syndrome after our 2nd. daughter married, but I really went through it with all of my grandkids growing up too. My oldest grandaughter is 22 then there are 4 grandboys and then the youngest grandaughter is 11. They have all been very involved in sports and we have been very involved cheering them on. It seemed that they were always at our house or us at theirs. Now, guess what, we don't see them much anymore, sooooo we are "emty nesters" again. That brings me to tell you about getting my Lucy. I was raised with dogs all of my life, my dad is an animal lover. After getting married we had a collie, an irish setter, and 2 dashounds. (not all at one time) I can honestly say I was never close to any of them and didn't really spend much time with them. After the last dashound we did not have another dog for approx. 12 - 15 years and I really didn't care, UNTIL I realized I was becoming very lonely when the grandkids were going about in their own separate ways and growing up. My DH is not a dog lover, but I am and I started researching breeds on the net as he has allergies and I found my Lucy. Her and I are so very close that my DH can not understand. I do think he is jealous because I do spend alot of time with her. I am not lonely any more. I am a registered nurse and now am on the IV team at the hosp. I would love to retire and plan on it next year. I lost my mother 3 days after Christmas 2007 to Alzhiemers and renal failure. Her and my dad had a camp in Tionesta, Pa. which she loved and my dad gave it to me after her passing. So our goal is to sell our house, snowbird in Florida in the winter months, as we live in cold Pa., and live in our camp during the summer where we can still be close to our family. Both my daughters and their families live close to us now. I could go on and on and on, but the bottom line is I love my girls, their families and my dear husband, BUT Lucy fills my "emty nest" and I Love Lucy !!!!

[Adrianne Matzkin]

It must have been hard to go through the empty nest tow times!! But you were lucky to have been so involved with the GK's lives - reliving your kids growing up years without all the daily issues. You got the best of both worlds. Soon you will have the grandkids kids to play with!
What kind of camp did your parents have? I love the idea of snowbirding in Florida! You know that's where we have been for the past 5 weeks - we are headed home Thursday, taking a few hours at the outlets in Jacksonville, then off to Savannah, I want to eat at Paula Deene's restaurant, then either stopping at our friends house in Richmond and then home sweet home on sunday. Our Pittsburgh daughter and SIN are coming in for their annual St Pat's day festival with tons of friends in Hoboken. I will only have a short time with them before they head back to Pitts Monday.

[Karen & Lucy]

You are right Adrianne, I really do have the best of 2 worlds. I feel I am very very blessed to have my girls and their families live sooooo near to me. I do talk to them just about every day. Not as much as I used to though as i feel I don't want to be a pest or interfere with their lives. My parents bought this camp many many years ago in the 60's. At that time it was just a 2 room building with none of the amenities that you would like. My mother just loved it there, very peaceful, in the woods etc. They and my DH and I put many wonderful memorable days there, building on and improving the "camp". She named it "Home In The Mountains" which that is just what it turned out to be. It is now a 4 bedroom home with ALL of the amenities. In 1985 there was a double tornado that came through the area and we were very lucky to just have a huge tree come down through one of the bedrooms, but no other damage. Most of the camps in the area were blown away. Just yesterday after telling you all about it above I was thinking that next year after I retire and we live there in the summer months it truely will be our "Home In The Mountains". I just wonder if she knew that when she was living.
What part of Florida were you in? I have a niece that lives in Ruskin, near Bradentin (?sp). It is on the west coast in just about the middle of the state. She says there are more rural areas there, she thinks, than in the rest of the state. I have been searching the net for just the right place b/c you have to book a year in advance to get a nice spot. We would love to be along the Gulf.
Are your DD and SIL Pens fans???? They are doing pretty well. I like them, but there are toooooo many games for me to keep up with , but we do get involved towards the end of the season and into the playoffs. We are BIG Steelers fans though.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

DH is a MAJOR Flyers fan - all his life. Something her shared with his Dad. SIL not so much hockey but Steelers??? All I can say is that I thanked all the gods up there that they won - my DD life would have been pretty miserable if they hadn't.
Where is "Home in the Woods"? It sounds like a camp that my sister-in-laws parents built in Canada. Until about 10 years ago, there was no indoor plumbing, Not a place I would ever visit. Their camp was just not for me. I like the quiet life but an outhouse is just too much for me!
We were in Miami Beach - we have never been tho the West Coast of Florida. I hear it is grogeous! Samantha had a great time - we drove straight from Savannah (left at 415pm after lunch at Paula Deene's restaurant) and decided we would drive until we both couldn't drive anymore. Turned out that we were able to drive straight through to home. Glad to be home - miss the sunshine - have no desire to return to the office. Oh, well, back to real life. I am looking foward to retiring - which will never happen. POOP!!

[Gail & Max]

I am 44, Jerry and I have been together for 15 years and married for 8 years this past February. I have twin sons that are 21 Andrew, who lives with Jerry and I, and Brian who lives with his dad. We have an estranged relationship but thats for another web site!! Jerry has 3 kids, Jeff, Phil and Sara and 4 grandchildren Ryan is 8, Allison is 7, Tyler is 8 and Darren is 6. Andrew is a mold maker apprentice. He started when he was 16 through a youth apprenticeship program we have in Ontario. His boss is building another shop in Mexico and Andrew is going to be one of his main guys down there! Its so nice when you see your kids succeed!

Jerry and I own Essex County Locksmiths here in Windsor and we bring Max with us everyday to work. I can't believe the people that come in just to see the dog! Max is our 2nd furry kid. Bear was our 11 year old yellow lab that we had to put down last June. What an awful summer that was! By the end of August, I had had enough and we seriously started looking for a Doodle. After 11 years of Lab, I couldn't deal with the shedding any longer but we love the personality! The first doodle we were going to get was on IDOG and his name was Milo. Unfortunately he tested positve for heartworm and after going through the experience with Bear I couldn't do that. We found Max on Kijiji (a local Ebay type site) and Max was advertised there. We got him and he was housebroken. Thank Goodness! That was 6 months ago and he's been an adventure ever since!