I'm 62 and have raised my grandson while caring for my dying mom alone. I know my life won't always be like this.

Althea Smith is raising her teenage grandson. Althea Smith Althea Smith, 62, is raising her grandson in Stockton, California, after caring for her late mother. Smith said raising him has been emotionally and financially challenging but very fulfilling. Smith plans to retire from her current job soon and pursue a career supporting older Americans. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Althea Smith, 62, who is raising her 14-year-old grandson and, until very recently, was caring for her mother . Smith, who lives in Stockton, California, works full-time and has raised her grandson for the past three years. The following has been edited for length and clarity. I don't have any recollection of my father, who was killed in the Vietnam War when I was 3. I was not raised by my mom, who recently died, though she was around.