I'm 72 and don't want to move to a retirement home. So I built a tiny home in my yard for a future live-in caretaker.

Jerry and Kathie Schwartz. Courtesy of Kathie Schwartz. In their 70s, Kathie Schwartz and her husband found their three-story home difficult to navigate. They moved into a smaller one-story home and built a 480-square-foot tiny home in the backyard. The tiny home will eventually house a live-in caretaker, allowing them to age in place. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kathie Schwartz, 72, who built a tiny home in her California backyard. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. I wanted to get ahead of planning for old age . My husband and I are in our 70s and in very good health, but we've been losing friends and going to a lot of celebrations of life. At our age, that's pretty common. After one celebration of life, my husband looked at me and said, "Promise me you'll never put me in a home."