Just recently, DH and I were battering around the idea of getting another dog, and my knee jerk reaction was "I'm not ready for the responsibility of another dog. I'm tired of being responsible."
It just sort of slipped out, but there's a lot of truth to that, which is one reason getting older, after raising 4 kids and 2 dogs, has been a very liberating experience for me. I love my life now. My 60s is a pretty good decade. I've always spent too much energy worrying about people in my care at the expense of self-care, so it's a good time for me to cut the cords and "wear purple."