Ruth Olinger, 70, says she'll never retire raising grandson

Over the years she fostered 51 children, all while single. "I didn't want anybody to feel less than," she said. "The harder they were to love, the better I liked them." She also did mission work in Europe and Africa, helped build a center for homeless women and children, and operated two orphanages.

Now she has five children. The oldest is 48. The youngest, Atlas, is 7. She adopted him a few years ago after her daughter could not make it work. Atlas has dyslexia and a chronic disease that cost Olinger days of work and hit her finances. "It takes a special person to love that child, tuck them in bed every night, and hold them when they're hurting," she said.

She still climbs into playground equipment with him and camps in the yard. She takes him swimming in the summer. The main difference from raising older children is the cost. Daycare and health insurance are the biggest drains.

Olinger said she does not fit in with young parents, or with senior groups that plan outings requiring a babysitter. She takes Saturdays off to take Atlas to fun places. The rest of the week, she works.

Her concern goes beyond her own retirement. "He's not going to have the best part of me because I'm getting older," she said. "I don't want to be an absent parent, and I want to make sure that he has some advantages when I'm not there."

At the same time, she does not want to hand him everything. "I want him to be able to stand on his own two feet and be whatever he wants to be," she said.