Years... !

I am so very sorry for the loss of your daughter.â¤ï¸

I have been losing hair for about three months. A lot. It is not a question of perception, but a very real thing. I would think I must have lost about (almost) half - no patches, just thinning out all over... The stats: 41, definately not in menopause AT ALL (all women in the family EXTREMELY late in menopause - think late 50s), but irregular cycles for the last months, due to important weight loss, caused by stress...which puts me in the inderweight catagory now. I am working towards getting a hold on the stressors...and the weight... I have been as careful as possible in the process, about getting the necessary vitamins & minerals, but must be missing something... What could be causing this kind of hair loss? I have the impression it has stopped over the last couple of weeks, and the hairdresser told me, she sees new "sprouts". I am worried she (and I) might be wrong, and I'll actually be bold in the near future...🙠I had periods of hairloss before (after each pregnancy, for example), but no-where that severe... Please share your stories - above all those, that "ended well", instead of bald...! Any tips? Thank you so much! ...I am starting to freak out a bit...

I have been to SA many times, as has my family. My Aunt has been living there for over 20 years. Never have I heard about Anti-malaria drugs being used (as opposed to many other African countries - and when travelling through these we have all taken the drugs repeatedly!). But then, I have certainly not been EVERYWHERE in SA, so maybe my experience does not apply... My instinct tells me to do as the locals do - particularly with a doctor in the host family, I wouldn't give it a second thought.

Most European Universities will require between 3-5 AP-exams to enter (without advanced placement!) or a Bachelor/undergraduate degree...and will probably not care much about anything else, as an Americal high-school (diploma) is not considered..."much"... You can find information on the internet site of almost any specific university...

Thank you all so much for your replies...right now they mean so much to me...! I feel "less lonely" alredy, and a bit more "normal" for feeling blue in regards to what we left behind... (in spite of knowing very well that this move was the right choice for us...!)

The moving thread hit home. For a variety of reasons we uprooted the family last summer, moving across Europe, new country, new language, new culture... Sending the kids to a b&m school for the first time was an additional change. Even though everything has worked out just the way we had hoped for, the change has been/is tough...mostly for myself... I do appreciate the possibilities this move offers each one of us (I have started Med-School in the fall...), but still badly mourn the life we left behind... The home our kids were born into, the neighborhood which was ours for 15+ years, knowing my way around, the "cozyness" that comes from knowing a place inside-out... Having left homeschooling behind makes the feeling of a "closed chapter" even more palpable. How do those of you who move often preserve a feeling of home? How do you manage to preserve what makes home (and ultimately family...) through moves and change? How do you deal with good-bys...and fresh starts, without losing part of yourself... I would love to hear from the moving experts, to help me appreciate the "normality" of moving...and starting over.

I turned 40 last summer...and started my first semester of Medical School in the Fall. This had been my dream forever. At 40, and in a position of being able to go back to university, I wasn't going to settle for any compromise. It is tough, much more so than I had anticipated, but so, so much more rewarding than I had expected, too!!! Most importantly, through all the toughness, this feels so much mine, that I selfishly enjoy every moment of it... For my fellow students - yes, I could (almost) be mom to most of them, barely older than my oldest...but, really, it doesn't matter. We are all just the same, trying to find our way, figure out how it works, listen, learn, ...and dream, too! I sometimes wonder whether these "kids" will think back of me, when they are 40, and realize the full enormity of embarking on this journey at this age...and four kids in tow... The pride I feel, easily sets off the price I pay - and then some!

I am thinking of a "happy homeschool situation" - kids thriving, family life going well (...going great!), mom content... In this set-up, what would it take for you to choose to end the voyage? What school would be irresistable? ...for full discloure, we have been homeschooling "forever"...and were set to see it through... These last weeks an opportunity has risen, for the (older three) kids (14,12, 10) to attend a truly amazing school. They will start in August - and will never be homeschooled again... My heart is heavy, but I know that this is the right choice, and that any other decison would have been egoistic...

More bumping... :lurk5:

I would assume that the only thing they care about are the actual exams, not the classes...

...a crowd in the delivery room??? We were 11 (with baby and me), my mom AND dad among them. It was the most beautiful moment in my life... After a VERY long night (no Epi, first baby), with snow falling havily outside, Bruce Springsteen singing, soft voices talking, so much support,...ds certainly was welcomed into the best of worlds! As far as nursing goes: I have literally nursed my way around Europe...while doing my shopping, when sitting in restaurants (WHILE eating!) at the public pool with just my bikini on (no, I'm not a "blanket-gal")... Oh, bikinis... Yes! ...and "even" with four kids! And, no, I won't get into the details of my bodily features, to "justify"! Btw, dd, who is nine, is going "top-less" at the beach/pool. She, for the life of hers, can't figure out what could be there to cover-up/hide...and we can only agree! But then, again, our moral standard must be off, as we happen to walk around the house NA*ED...and the kids don't seem to mind! ...and, now THE DISCLAIMER : We are Europeans!😜

...plans for the future. The younger nephew still has a road to travel, but we are holding our breath, as after his last 6-month hospitalised therapy he has now been clean for over 8 months. His life is in shatters, though, and almost 10 years are difficult to catch up. Our kids are older now (13,11, 9), so we are very open about addiction, their nephews, and choices we, as their parents, made. Believe me, I am happy to explain why we did never let them sleep at my SIL's house, why we did not think skiing-trips with the nephews were a good idea... I am very relieved, too, NOT having to explain why we cut ties with them when they were at their worst. The most sick, the poorest, the most pittyful. Last but not least, someone else mentioned signs we are setting for our kids about who is appropriate company, and who is not. Well, we loud and clear wanted to set the sign that we are here whatever - a sign for them and a sign for our kids.

We have been living this exact situation for the last couple of years - and Joanne very much summarized our attitude. In our case one of the nephews was a reagular "pot/extasy-etc-user" (does that word even exist?), the other one escalated to heroin at a young age. Obviously social/legal consequences were ever present. Their addiction really discredited them as adults, capable of making controlled, mature and responsible choices. Did it turn them into some monsters I needed to protect my kids from? Absolutely not! Obviously I would not accept a situation where they would be in charge of my kids (and neither the dog, actually!), but that is just because I consider them INCAPABLE of being reliable, not because I expect them to be any more dangerous per se, than the nice proper oncle... Also, as Joanne wrote above, in a situation of heavy dependancy, the addict himself will be the first one to pull out of the relationship. I cannot count the number of no-shows for family-gatherings, the last minute cancellations... I am proud though, to be part of an extended family, which found the strength (and mostly managed to figure out the logistics) to integrate its weakest members, while protecting the others. For what it's worth, the older of the two nephews was here for dinner two days ago - and I am so incredibly proud of the way he has evolved. Holding a steady job for 5+ years, living with a lovely, very stable girl, making

Looking forward to hearing about this, too!