Dorothy Custer is the definition of gumption. Listen to her tell the story of how she met her husband, then at 2:10 she reveals the secret to long life (btw, it's the cutest thing ever).
When Larissa met Ian at college in 2005, she never dreamed she'd one day be his wife ... and his caretaker. After a tragic accident left Ian without the ability to speak, walk or care for himself, she did what any woman in love would do: she married him.
This is how it is with big kids: the older our children get, the more the things they need comforting from are not things we can do much about. When they don't have friends, we can't set up playdates for them. When they don't understand their homework, we usually don't understand it enough to help them, either. When someone breaks their heart, we can't (and shouldn't) go try to talk them into loving our baby again.