We watched it on the 3rd...couldn't wait another day. The kids and I saw the musical when it came to town a couple of years ago, but not with that cast!!! Hubby didn't want to spend the money (he hates musicals) so he didn't see the live show. My eldest and I are going to watch it again today because we both like to sing a long!!!!!! It annoys everyone else. 🥰

I was able to get semolina and make some and told the kids if they want it again...they can make it. Lol its more work than I can handle right now 😉 I love cauliflower pasta!! Not sure how it would go over with the family. They are so adventurous with food EXCEPT with the italian?!?!?

We are italian and we are having a terrible time finding pasta consistently!!!! It's TERRIBLE! I'm kidding, sort of. I know it's not a tragedy but it's really hard when you can't find pasta and you still have 30 jars of fresh canned tomato sauce left in your cupboard. We are about ready to just drink the stuff. HAHA

My friends have been waiting over a week also. One family member had a slight fever..that's it but doctor recommended testing. They are so frustrated with sitting and waiting. They parents are both teachers so thank goodness they are on summer break but still. For the people who want us to open up and go back to school...fine! But at a minimum we should have made sure testing could keep up with spikes!! Our responses to this pandemic are abysmal.

M My sweet Lucy wants a treat!!

Before my own marriage my hubbys female relatives were trying to get me to call MIL "mom". I dodged. I was young. At one point they had me backed against a wall with my mother present and I said something to her affect of "i only use mom for the woman who had to put up with me in the teen years". Honestly I don't have a great relationship with my mom but I think demanding someone call you mom is rude. If it naturally happens and everyone's on board, fine. Otherwise it just feels like dominance.

The school I work for has fought to keep tuition as minimal as possible. Many of our families are low and low middle income. Part of how they've chosen to do that is some of our grades have larger class size..Our other problem is the school was built in the 50s for 1st-8th grade two of each grade. Now we have TK-8 with the same number of classrooms..hence the reason we have had to have single classes for 3-6th grade. That is changing next year but only for 3rd and 6th grades. 4th and 5th will still have 38ish each. I know!! It's crazy. The rest of the grades have 17-21. When I have to teach those single grades I have to take big calming breaths LOL

I agree! I too, loved the idea upthread of full history exhibits around the statues that are below ground level...I thought that was a brilliant idea! But, I think people are done waiting for civil removal. How long are we going to put this off? It's been said already, but I will repeat it, there have been protests, petitions, court cases....everything has been tried and no one listens. They need to go and if that means we throw them in a lake that's fine with me. If people had been willing to engage in honest dialogue we wouldn't be where we are right now. Violent police kill unarmed men and women of color over and over again and we ignore it. This is what happens when you routinely ignore an entire community of people. And don't even get me started on things like "thoughts and prayers". I personally have not done a good job of engaging people in my life when they say inappropriate things. I awkwardly ignore it, or pull punches. So I am not much different than the people who don't want to discuss removal of statues. All I can do now is change. I need to boldly look at my bias and admit it. I need to call out inappropriate comments made by people in my family...and make sure I am not saying things also! And I will protest at a social distance against a biased policing system. It's time to get off my bottom. A unified nation is better for all of us. Ok, I hope this makes sense and doesn't sound insensitive or anything. I haven't slept in days due to ridiculous hot flashes!! So I'm tired and foggy.

I remember reading that German education included the horrors of WWII at a very young age. They didn't sugar coat it. They wanted to make sure it never happened again and part of ensuring that meant being straightforward and honest! I can't find the article and I did read some more recent articles that said there seems to be less of a universal approach to the topic now and that is being looked at. I was a terrible student, lazy and never paid attention. I knew so little about history. So when I started looking for textbooks to teach my own kids about American History, I wanted it to be interesting and engaging so they wouldn't blow it off like I did. I was disturbed by how most of our dark history was glossed over, rationalized or just plain left out. I didn't know about the Japanese internment camps until I was an adult and my best friend told me her mom was in one in Hawaii! Even Rosa Parks was the lady who refused to give up her seat. Nothing about her work leading up to that day We need a complete rewrite of all of our history textbooks. They really are appalling.

My youngest graduated high school this month!!(My oldest graduated college, also!! Corona Virus did save me a fortune in Graduation parties 😉 We homeschooled all the kids all the way... I now teach Music in a Catholic School and we have had many frustrating meetings on how to open school in August!! If I still had school age kids in school, I'd take them home. It's not anyones fault because this whole thing is very complicated...but it's going to be a nightmare. Online schooling is challenging when you're educating kids who aren't used to it, but trying to keep 5 year olds in masks all day seems impossible! Not to mention that some of my classes have 38-40 kids in them!!!!!! Social distancing, masks, flex schedules...my head is spinning!!

Fascinating!!! Thanks for sharing!

I apologize if this was asked already, but I knew if I kept reading, I'd never find the post again....why is there a statue of Lenin in Seattle? Just curious.. I'm going to keep reading so if you've already answered this question..just ignore 😉

Amen! And thank you...I never could have said it this perfectly but you captured my thoughts exactly!

All of our school/church on property events are cancelled, except for Mass which is EXTREMELY modified. My church holds 1800 people and we are only allowing 100 people into each Mass. They must call for a reservation during the week, are screened and walked to a seat. Pews are marked off for extra social distancing and then they are dismissed slowly so people aren't herding out of the church. We just opened last Sunday and it was well done, but bizarre to watch. But I was happy with how they handled it, generally speaking. I am also one of the teachers at the school. We offered online summer school but parents declined. They and their kids are sick of online learning and they were really looking for social interaction which is just not as good online...at least for young kids. I'm scheduled to go back to school in mid-August but we are a state that is spiking right now, so who knows. I'm learning flexibility 😉

Praying

I haven't read all of the posts, but I swear you are living in my neighborhood!! We have this exact experience, and I can tell you exactly what happened. My neighbors passed away about 20 years ago (I lived here then, and knew them). Their only daughter had died of cancer leaving a son to be raised by the homeowners (grandparents) He was in his young teens. After the death of the grandparents, he went to live with his estranged father's family. Only family he had left. That was 20 years ago. He owned the house and I'm not sure why they never sold it, but it just sat empty. Very rundown. To the point where neighbors (lots of construction workers in my neighborhood) started to maintain the outside of the house so the neighborhood would remain safe. Main problem.....I'm not lying....raccoons broke into the house. They back door had rotted and they just pushed their way in. We documented 10 HUGE raccoons living in there. Old time neighbors had no way to contact the family so they contacted the health department who did very little. Taxes were paid on the property so their hands were tied. They did help get rid of the raccoons. But a happy ending just happened about a month ago. The grandson is all grown up and married with kids. He decided to come back to our state and live in the house. They've stripped it down and made it livable. He's not wealthy so it will take time to fix it up but he and his young family officially moved in this last weekend. I haven't gone down to see him yet, due to our stay at home. Numbers are rising so I don't want to freak them out..I doubt he'd remember us. But it's so wonderful to see lights on etc. But it has been weird all of these years. 😉

HaHa. That would definitely work with our younger families...but the old ones would all be revved up to sing!! I occasionally add chant with my choir, but it's not a main part of our repertoire! But I grew up with it and sometimes miss some of it.

I haven't read all of the results, but I can tell you what we're doing at my Catholic Church in So. Cal, since I'm a singer and Youth Choir Director....No choir until further notice, likely Jan. 2021 at the earliest. We are discussing the possibility of having a single singer with a piano, but not singing anything too familiar so the congregation won't sing. Also no song books in the pews so the people won't be tempted to sing. It's sad but I agree that being cautious is important. My church has not opened yet. We've been closed since March, 16. Hoping to open by the end of June...lots of procedures to figure out. It's been crazy...

I'm a music teacher in a Catholic school. I teach TK-8th grade. I've been thinking of exactly these things. Right now I'm teaching online, and even though it has it's own stress, going back into the classroom and reworking my whole curriculum feels worse. Sigh....keep calm and keep real. My new mantra

As I sit typing this, my Music Major son is engaged in an online voice lesson with one of his professors. All of his music classes have continued online. He is not going to have his conducting debut in May as was planned, but we are learning flexibility and taking it one day at a time. My daughter who is graduating college this semester is in an online class with her Screen Writing professor right now. She has very little hope that she will get a job this summer since she wants to work in episodic television. So she will continue to tutor and work on her screenplays and bide her time. Does she want to move out? Absolutely but we are learning patience. And my youngest daughter is graduating high school in May. No graduation and she will go to local community college next year. Colleges in my state are already talking about online learning in the fall and she can do that just as well at the local CC which is excellent. My older kids have had amazing experiences there. We are learning to be grateful. Grateful that we are healthy so far (even my son who is a Type 1 diabetic and therefore at risk). Grateful that we are together even though we are beginning to bug each other. Grateful that all of us who have jobs are still getting some money from those jobs. It's not perfect. It sucks and it's scary. I choose not to focus on that. I choose to look at what I can control. I'm enjoying time with my husband and kids since we are usually too busy to spend time together. I'm trying to deep clean my house (failing miserably) I'm trying to breathe and enjoy the sunset. I'm enjoying the cleanest air I've seen in decades. Life is going to happen how ever it's going to happen. I can't fix it, and I can't control it all. I can just be steady and real. Don't know where all this came from but It just sort of flowed out of my fingers. Thanks for letting me get it out. Stay safe everyone. EVerything's going to be alright....eventually.

I hate to sound like POTUS...really i do......but that's SAD. I also know how true it is

Murphy101, thank you!! You helped my blood pressure return to normal. Look some us have health issues, some of us have kids with health issues, some of us have no health issues. That's life. I have been shocked by how much fighting I have to do for supplies/meds for my T1 Son. It's a fairly known disease. It's not that rare. What a T1 needs to stay alive is pretty obvious. But I have had to fight with the insurance company, then with our medical group and finally with a third party distributor of medical equipment. When one finally gives in after I and the doctor provide reams of evidence, the next one steps in and says NO, so I start again....and so on and so on. It's ridiculous. Again, this is a fairly well known disease. But yes I have had to fight for the right amount of INSULIN and the right amount of NEEDLES. Don't get me started on CGM's and pumps. But I think I've said all this before. So I know what I'm about to say is inflammatory. I have a raging headache and my kids are driving me crazy. I certainly am not addressing this to all of the people on this thread in fact it's how I've been feeling towards society at large. If you are someone who rejects single-payer or ACA or anything but what you have, why is there no compassion for people who are stating they are struggling with the system we all live with. When someone like me comes on here and says this is screwed up, I'm frustrated, tired, scared for my son's prospects once he's an adult, broke....why is the first response SINGLE PAYER WOULD BE A DISASTER!!! For those people whom the current health system works well/great/good enough, why can't you find a way to have a discussion regarding the issue without completely discounting our suffering either blatantly or passively. Where is the compassion? This is what I hear....."this works fine for me. It probably works fine for you to. I don't believe that its as bad as you say." And my conclusion is you only give a darn for yourselves. I'm not fully convinced that single-payer is the answer, but responses like some of the ones in this thread are only pushing me towards single-payer. The responses say you're a liar...its not bad for me so it's not bad for you. Shut up and drop it.

http://www.pnhp.org/facts/single-payer-faq I am only half way through this article, but it's interesting. I know there is no "Perfect" fix but much of this article seems well researched and facts backed up with research articles. It goes into quite a lot of detail in regards to coverage and what happens to existing employment within the HC System. ETA: It also seems to debunk a lot of the theories regarding decreased research, massive wait times ...but again I just started reading it, before someone jumps down my throat. ?

Quick question What is a PBM?

I also agree. I am pretty partisan I will admit and sometimes even ignorant, but I can't help but feel that many don't really care to fix it. There are some who speak out but it never really goes anywhere. And what would be the motivation. I am all for the idea of making it non-profit from top to bottom, but I doubt there would be any support for it and I know movement in that direction works against research etc. Profit is a motivator. There is no doubt. So I'm frustrated and have met a lot of wonderful caring people who can't afford to upgrade to a PPO. They don't have jobs that provide even an HMO. We have an HMO. With a lot of fighting, many many hours of calls, I have been able to get the things my son needs to keep him healthy, out of the hospital and stable, which in the long run will save the health insurance company money. But I have time to sit on hold forever, understanding bosses and the education to know how to handle bureaucracy. To many don't have some or many of these things. Hope I'm making sense. This is just a situation that makes me see red. It's hard to read about a CEO making gazillions of dollars and know that my kid has to figure out how to get a decent job, with decent pay, the right health insurance that covers his stuff.....and then don't change jobs in case the next situation is worse......It's frustrating. I do know, better health care is just a talking-point that quickly gets ignored after the election..No real solutions being implemented that I'm aware of. Again I admit I'm not all-knowing.