It was interesting as to how the children were able to survive because of their backgrounds. They are used to survival skills from a very young age.

I'm so sorry, I know that's hard.

It depends, mostly on whether or not it's just me or if dh is going. He can tolerate longer hours behind the wheel than I can. If it's just me, six hours max in a day, including stops. If it's both of us, up to ten hours. Dh can't stand to be the passenger, so I drive very little, if any of it. If we have enough time, we might go further & spend the night somewhere along the way. We could both tolerate driving longer in a day when we were younger, but are now in our late 50s... that changed about ten years ago. Car rentals are needed if we both go, most of the time, as we are likely staying at a hotel & not someone's house.

I love the house photo idea. Something a group of my friends gave me when we moved was gift cards to places in our new area. All for restaurants and breweries.

This is similar to how it was when I taught. We had a certain number of evening activities. Two per semester. Dates and times for activities, whether at night or during the day were announced well in advance. At most places I taught, there were plenty of parents who worked nights and were glad that some of the activities were during the day.

Being queer is definitely not a disability. I agree with Laura in that more people that are queer find it easier to talk about more sensitive subjects.

Yes to all of this. These are critical points.

Hmmm... not where I went. I did three years right out of high school and dropped out. When I went back TWENTY years later, I had to have transcripts sent to all of the schools I applied to. Much of what I had done when I was younger actually still counted (although, I was in a different situation in that I had decent grades and no fails).

This! The first problem is the abusive father/husband. Assist your daughter in any way possible on moving out and giving her some "hands up" to help her after leaving. And yes, you can spend the money in the marriage. You don't need his permission. If he's made it where you can't access it, you need to lawyer up if he won't give you access.

This week is a little different due to travel. Today: Leftovers Wed: Chicken Quesadillas with Taco Slaw & Black Beans Thurs: Meatloaf with Salad Fri-Sun: Out of Town Mon: Order Out when get home after an 8-9 hour drive.

Yep... But for me, it's prosecco with a splash of cranberry juice. I'm so happy that they've started serving drinks again up front while boarding is still going on. I sip on that and start watching a show on the screen in front of me as soon as I'm settled. Although to be honest, I fly enough that I really don't get nervous about it.

I'm so, so sorry, so many hugs going to you and your family.

This week: Monday: Chicken Quesadillas, Guac, Homemade Chips Tuesday: Taco Salad w/left. chicken, Cheesy tortillas (cheese melted on a corn tortilla) Wednesday: White Bean Chicken Chil Thursday: Eat Out Friday: Juicy Air fried Shrimp, a selection of cheeses, crackers, homemade mozzarella cheese sticks Saturday: Grilled Chicken, Herb Roasted Carrots Sunday: Turkey Sliders, Taco Slaw Monday: Probably Eat Out, after working the city's Memorial Day parade/picnic (why eat out, you ask? It's hot dogs and chips. I can't eat hot dogs... and it's over by 4... so eat out & grab a beer on the way home, probably with some of the other volunteers)

(((kidshappen)))

And the rest of us get to say that we are friends with the Baking Queen's daughter!!!

The former talk show host, Mike Douglas... in an elevator in a hotel when I was in high school. I'm personally friends with a former Georgia State Superintendent of Schools. When we lived near each other, we were in a book club together and did things socially. Now, it's more of a texting and FB relationship as I've moved away. She was "famous" in Georgia. Pro-wrestler Fit Finley's son was in my preschool class. I talked to him all the time. He and his wife are so nice. I even went to his house once, as he knew my son wanted to meet him. So kind. It was funny, though, cause his kid thought it was the coolest thing that the teacher came over.

I strongly encourage you to let her lead the conversation. And not to bring up things that she doesn't bring up. If your goal is to work on your relationship with her, take baby steps & just listen. And tell her that you love her.

Thank you all for sharing. It's hard, no matter what... whether we know it's coming or it's sudden.

Today was hard. I went to a funeral for a 30-year-old young lady that was good friends with my son when he was young. We moved away from there 18 years ago, but have kept in touch with with the parents, seeing them when we can. It was just so hard and tragic and unexpected. She died in a freak accident when a forklift operator lost control of his load and it fell on her. Just so sad.

I posted in our neighborhood FB group asking if there was one and had a couple of people invite me to the same group. They are now among my closest friends.

Your words: "I can't allow her to stay at your house unprotected by her brother." There would be no further sleepovers for either of my children with this family. One does not get to imply that my son by virtue of being male is a risk to one's daughter.

Quickly convert his bedroom into something else!!!

I will add that in my group, the hostess has 2-3 food items, 2-3 bottles of wine, and typically a pitcher of water. Most people bring a finger food and/or a bottle of wine. Thankfully, most of us can walk to each other's houses. Our husbands call it the Wine Club.

Our group starts earlier (6:15). People definitely don't eat before they come. I would have a hard time not starting until 7:30 both due to a late eating time and the fact that my group meets for about three hours. 10:30 would be too late to be done.

If you figure it out, let us know. My aunt and uncle had that happen to them. The person also managed access to their email account because they responded to emails that landed in their inbox. They had clearly obtained their password. Changing their password fixed the issue.