I don't mind the physical contact, either. It just feels phony to me, and phony is the hardest thing for my personality.

I feel like I'm a senior church-goer --that I've seen it all. I am also a friendly introvert. I don't enjoy anything "forced" at church at this point in my life. We attend a large church where we're usually not missed when we are absent. I just smile and nod when told to shake hands or fist bump or whatever--that, or busy myself in my pew as an avoidance tactic.

I'm reading Prairie Fires now, @Faith-manor. I really enjoyed The Moonshiner's Daughter, @Ottakee.

I, too, think the title of the article is clickbait. 🙄 I used to tell my kids when they were little, "You're my favorite (insert kid's name here) in the world," and it's true. I'm a fairly self-aware person, and in my heart of hearts I really don't think I have a favorite child.

I taught freshman comp at a local community college off and on for 15 years, and I absolutely found this to be true. I know teachers shouldn't have favorite students (😉), but my returning students were mine! Best wishes on this new and exciting adventure! Homeschooling is perhaps the best preparation you could've had!

I definitely saw this. I was fresh off homeschooling when schools closed in 2020 and was able to quickly and reasonably transition my fourth grade class to school-at-home. I understood how much work was reasonable daily for kids outside of a brick and mortar classroom, but I was one of few. Many teachers at my school struggled with this (and remember--they'd had NO preparation for it!) and consequently, students struggled.

This definitely exists. I taught 2019-2022, and the number of times parents were dismayed by in-person assessments after "doing so well" at home is not a small one. It was obvious based on the assessments that something fishy happened during on-line learning (& it was less than stellar on both ends!), and man, what a struggle it was to regain any sense of normalcy. It took my sixth graders one whole semester in 2021 to get down to business, which was after a year of mostly in-school but sometimes not, "hybrid" days, and A/B schedules. And my state returned to "normal" pretty fast!

This discussion is diminishing my sadness over no longer homeschooling. I have felt a few times like we quit (2019) just as it exploded due to 2020 events. This makes me feel less FOMO about the things we might be missing locally.

They can! (I know nothing about Woobles but looked it up on Amazon and saw the yarn.)

Forty-nine here and no real discernible symptoms that I can tell (though I have gained weight and have unfortunate aches and pains that have shown up in the last couple of years.). Y'all are scaring me.

I'm about 40 lbs heavier than I'd prefer to be, and back a few months ago I bought some wide legged pants on clearance at Athleta. I don't love the color but they feel amazing. They're helping see me through this extra fluffy period of my life when most of my closet is too snug. 😩

Wow! At my library, overdue notices are looked for one-by-one, so by the time a bill is sent, the book has been searched for 2-3 times (& often by more than one person). We REALLY don't want to charge someone for a book that has been overlooked or miss-shelved. We also use the "claims return" designating as needed, just in case!

I wish I did! 🤣

That's a lot. (((Hugs)))

No, I would not

Dh just retired and we currently have family insurance through my job and his retirement benefit (state), so we're double covered. I'm not sure exactly how it will pan out in the future, but as we're both under 50 right now with many years of work ahead of us (he took another full time job after being retired for 7 days from the state), I'm not overly concerned yet.

This has inspired me to give the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder another go. (I attempted it when it was first published but am now motivated.). Has anybody read it?

I'm currently on the episode that compares the books to actual history. Some of the things I did not know (I.e. specific details about the long winter), but I'm surprised that people think/thought that the books aren't fictionalized. I've never viewed them that way--I think it was always in my mind that timelines were compressed, composite characters developed, etc.

One of my best friends growing up had the blue slip covered set. I had the yellow ones, though no slipcover that I recall.

We have a place that makes lotions, soaps, and shower gels. Their biggest seller, though, is probably laundry detergent. They pack it into a reusable plastic canister. You can choose your scent or none at all. Our place is a chain--Buff City--but it might be worth searching for something similar.

And it's mentioned in several kids' books, and it always made me wonder about it.

For sure--experience and expertise should matter. The OP wanted the going price in poster's areas, and having just hired someone (with an already-existing business based mostly on FB and word-of-mouth, and yes, an adult) twice in the past six months, that's what I shared.

Perhaps the difference is that PT is not gig work--they're guaranteed more work and also have much more opportunity to work. Thus, gig workers must charge more in order to make it worth doing.

I agree. One of my regrets is that I didn't send my eldest to school a few years earlier. It would've been beneficial for this child because child eventually went to high school, and going earlier would've likely (hindsight and all that) helped socially. Here's the point: building those relationships before there's a dire need is wise.

I'm on episode 2. It's very interesting. I went to graduate school for library science back in 2000 and I remember some of the discussion she brings up. My family also made a trek to Mansfield, MO, in 2013 (& dh and I had been to DeSmet, SD, in 2003) so much of her experience and passion resonates.