Meet Susan

The last thing Susan expected to be doing in her mid-60s was raising toddlers, but after retiring early to become the guardian for her identical twin grand-daughters, Mila and Myla, Susan’s world today is one of diapers, toys, and naptimes. 

“They are a blessing, but a handful,” says Susan, lovingly scooping one of the girls onto her lap. 

When the twins were two months old, Susan retired from her job as a dietician at an assisted living facility to keep them from entering foster care. Susan has been in her Northeast Tacoma home over 25 years, raising her own children there and now her grandchildren. Over the years, time has taken its toll on the home. Most significant was a rotting post on the front porch, under which Susan had placed a block to keep the roof from collapsing. 

Tacoma Habitat’s Aging in Place team replaced the post and added a beam to support the roof. They also replaced rotting trim around the garage door and repaired electrical and plumbing issues in the bathroom, where Susan says the only light previously was from a lamp. 

On a cold, sunny day the Quilting Sisters visited Susan to present not only her with a quilt, but Mila and Myla as well. The gleeful girls wrapped themselves in their quilts to pose briefly for a photo and then were off and running again.  

“I’m turning 65 soon,” says Susan with a laugh. “I can’t keep up with these two!”  

Susan expressed her gratitude for Habitat’s Aging in Place program.

“I’m just so thankful to Peter and everyone else. I was so worried about my porch roof falling.”