She should check with the insurance company directly. If it is insurance through federal or military employment, they actually have a provision where the spouse can keep it long-term if they pay the full premium. Otherwise you're likely looking at COBRA payments which can be expensive. Or getting insurance through the state marketplace. It is correct that pre-existing conditions no longer apply. That was done away with the Affordable Care Act.

We're fans of the Abacos in the Bahamas. They are called the "family islands." Very expensive, but many great memories.

You'll find your way. Plan more adult activities to ease the transition. I do some volunteering that brought in a new circle of friends that I'm enjoying. I am taking classes and found one career path that I definitely have ruled out. I only have one class left in the certificate and will finish it, and then I have something else I'm pretty sure I'm going to pursue that is a better fit. So I'm busy with my own life now. I'm renting for probably another 2-3 years until I see what the college kids are going to do. Both want to stay in the area, but who knows. I like where we are, so I'm not leaving this area. What they do is up to them.

Transitions are always hard. We moved ten minutes away from a house we sold to a rental, and it was so stressful getting everything out and the new place set up. Then getting the old house closed out and all of that. My oldest college kid was away with the Army and missed nearly all of the fun. I hadn't moved in twenty years and forgot how bad it is. We kept all of the same doctors and dentists, but getting all of the services set up, addresses changed, etc. etc. was hard. I still periodically run across places that have the wrong information even though it's been over a year. My kids both graduate from college they commute to in the next 2-3 years, so I'm staying put until we see what they plan. Then we may move again.

Boy, that sounds bad. I agree. If it's bad starting out, it's going to stay that way and maybe get worse. I'm taking a summer class that started out well, but is not going well. But the professor's wife was on bedrest, and then their baby has a host of problems. Saturday he lectured from the emergency room and set one of the computer lab techs to be with us and then lead the lab. He's only graded the first two weeks of an 8-week class that has two weeks left. And we did two weeks of work on Saturday, but are still a week behind right now. It's community college, but half the class has stopped coming. I think he'll be fair, but it's kind of a mess. That I can excuse though because he's a good professor.

Yes, mine don't mind too much. My oldest got a parking permit his first semester because he had a 7am class, and he found it frustrating. Getting a parking place after 8am is almost impossible. My younger one is talking about driving because she only has one class one day, but I don't think she would like it for long. She's not doing summer school, but I told her that she has to drive in and go with my older one when he has his summer class to see what it's really like before we buy a pass. And FWIW, our car insurance looks at the mileage, and it's less with them only driving to the bus stop.

We've done that. I don't know how it's any different than returning shoes that didn't fit to Amazon.

Late to the game, but both of mine (a junior and a senior) are commuter students. At this point, mine don't qualify for need-based aid even though I'm low income single parent (complex situation). Both have some help through other sources, but the reality is that dorm living would require taking out a loan. We've discussed the positives and negatives of that, and at this point they choose not to take out a loan. They take a commuter bus, and the trip usually takes about 90 minutes. It works very well for us. Both are involved on campus and locally. Works for us!

My job coach said 7-10 days. I've had a few where I did that, and they didn't reply though. So I moved on.

Yes, it's funny how that goes. We sold our nearly-perfect, upscale house last summer, and the college kids and I moved to rent a shabby split level I found in a great neighborhood. And in a way it's nice. The walls are a mess in some rooms. The carpet is worn. The kitchen floor has dents. But the layout and location are excellent. One of my college kids is always telling me that I should ask the landlord if they want to sell. And we just live with it as-is. And there's nothing we have to do about it but keep it clean and the yard decent. I might just rent for awhile. LOL.

Yes, I hear you. I'm headed that way with mine who is in the National Guard. His unit is on the short list. It's what they signed up for, but it's hard on us too. Mine was actually activated for hazardous duty just six weeks after finishing training, and that was hard.

Agreed. No reason to throw logs on the fire either. Some people just take lengthy explanations and dig in. If you're looking for a resource on handling this sort of thing, Bill Eddy is great: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/5-types-people-who-can-ruin-your-life/201809/biff-4-ways-respond-hostile-comments.

That's what I'd do. It hasn't been a good fit all along, and then this.

I went to the memorial service for a dear older friend, and they had his favorite Chinese restaurant cater it. Given that I had been there with him in a group, it was perfect.

Macy's does the same with their Star Money. I worked for them until just a few weeks ago, and they would have 40% off weekends for the employees once a month. It happened to hit this month on my last day, so I bought a bunch of stuff that we truly needed. And then I had $17 of Star Money that expires in July. LOL. So I found a nightgown on clearance. Mine all have holes. It's a trap though, a big trap...

I've got a little arthritis, but I'm active. It doesn't slow me down much, but when I look at classes at the gym I always think about my knee. Some classes I can do if I have a quiet day afterwards, and some not at all. I do walk every day. My hair is very wavy now, but my legs have little hair at all. It's funny. I hadn't expected to be a single parent of two college kids, but I here I am. I've been looking for full-time work for a long time, but get by. I've made some very close friends through a ministry group that I do a lot of things with. They all have complicated stories too and somehow are keeping on, so they inspire me. I guess that aging really hasn't been too bad for me. I'm finding a story in my troubles and am working on living moment-by-moment. Sounds trite, but that's where I am, I'm optimistic about the future.

It's a very good employment market here for my expertise. Probably the best in the U.S. I've had a decent number of interviews, but no offers. I really think it's being in my late 50's and part-time work for twenty years. I've had interviewers mention that sort of thing even though the age issue is illegal. My kids are commuter college students here too, so it's better for us to stay in the area. But yes, I'm weary of looking but won't give up until I get a job.

Yes, if I had been working full-time all along in what I did before kids, I would have been making double what they were quoting for salary. But it's more than I'd make as a full-time professor too, which is really what I'm qualified for after twenty years as an adjunct. But that's not going to happen any time soon. They don't hire many full-time professors at all in my area. I know that my age and having taken twenty years of part-time employment hurts me. My kids are a year and two years away from graduating from college, and I'm betting they will have a much easier time.

I know that they feel that they have to be absolutely sure these days, but it's indeed hard on people. When I was in university research, I remember being on the committee working the long process of picking two new people for a new program out of 200+ applications. As it turned out, both people we hired were duds. One constantly went on rabbit trails and couldn't get anything done, and the other was cocky and really didn't know his stuff at all. Neither accomplished much at all. When they had to downsize after I left, both were let go. I don't know how we could have prevented that given that they both looked good from our standpoint, but it showed me how bad hiring is such a waste.

Yes, there seems like no rhyme or reason to it all. I've been blessed I guess in that I've never had this type of trouble getting a job before. Nearly always, I was chosen right away! But this is sure different. One job (my current college work) didn't even interview me. One of the people that recently helped me with my resume and other parts of it said that one of his best positions came from an interview that seemed to go really bad. He never knew what happened there, only that he got an offer a week later. So I'm steeling myself that you never really know. I had one that strung me along for over five months. At one point they said I was in the top three, and then this-and-that. I finally contacted HR, and they said that the position had been filled. A lot of time is involved applying, preparing, sending emails, etc. etc. I'd rather be working. LOL.

They were just becoming popular when I worked in the city. It was a way for someone to start a restaurant in an expensive city with minimal outlay. I've since gone into the city several times with my young adults,and they now park around certain parks. It's nice to have so many options on where to eat. Generally their food is more reasonably priced than the local restaurants. Some events in my area have them. Much better than the typical fair-type food, for sure.

This looks like a job I'd enjoy with good pay and benefits. I've had two previous interviews with them, reference checks, criminal/credit checks, and did the required psychological testing (Calipers). Some of you know that I've been looking for full-time work for 18 months. We've been scraping by on my three part-time jobs, what my college kids have been able to contribute in various ways, and the kindness of friends. There's a lot of back story, but I'll leave it there. I volunteer with a local ministry and last night another leader commented that some people's lives are just a continuous uphill battle. That's me. If I get this job, so many things will fall into place. So positive thoughts and prayers are appreciated. Update: It was a decent interview, but it could go either way. The responsibilities listed and job requirements listed didn't connect in some ways, so I asked about that and found out that there was quite a bit that wasn't stated in the job responsibilities that I'd be doing. One person dominated the questions and one said almost nothing. The other said a few things but was mostly quiet. They listed job requirements that I'm especially qualified for but didn't seem to want to talk about those areas. So I don't know. I certainly could do the job and enjoy it, but I've had better interviews. At the end I tried to get them back to the areas I'm strong in by talking about their future goals. But they didn't quite know how to get there, so I pointed out that I know how to do that. So I think I ended well. I was turned down yesterday on a job I had a second interview for several weeks ago. That one I thought would be an immediate turn-down because one of the interviewers didn't seem to like my answers, but apparently they did try to find a place for me and just didn't have an opening. It was through an employee referral. So that was a small positive. They said they would keep my resume on file.

Well, my professor posted one assignment. His wife had the baby on Sunday. So I did that one last night so it's done. He says that he'll be in class Saturday, so hopefully he has a plan for the remaining weeks.

Yes, not at all comparable. VT is a nationally-ranked engineering school. Neither of mine are STEM majors, but in this situation I'd probably hold my ground. It's their problem, not mine.

I wouldn't take it. You almost always lose when you transfer anyway. Sometimes you have to, but I wouldn't for this. I'm in a situation where one of mine could use some college money for the second half of a four-year degree, but I'm wary of getting money from the relatives that have offered for similar reasons. I'm OK for this academic year, so I think we'll just take it one year at a time and turn them down. She's a commuter student at a state school, so it's not bad if there has to be a loan for her senior year.