How would I feel? If this were my best ever bosom buddy, it wouldn't bother me, and I would do it. Because I had probably asked something similar of her in the past. Not so close a friend, honestly, yes I would be bothered, and I'm not sure I would do it. Of course, my girls would probably try to guilt me into it (they've been my conscience lately). Still, I would be irked about it. Your pasta salad sounds delicious.

To be fair, the dental coverage is pretty much worthless. I keep an eye on our current dentist's website and am able to use coupons for regular cleanings and x-rays. My dd that needed braces - that is completely out of pocket. The medical care has been great, though.

Mom of 5 girls. Very normal. I remember another mom telling me I was lucky having just girls because I wouldn't have to worry about that. Hah! I talked about public vs. private behavior with them. Otherwise, check for UTIs, if they use bubble bath regularly. But yeah, very normal.

I have very limited experience with Medicaid and Medicare, but the experience I do have has been good. My children are on CHIP, and I have zero complaints. No problem finding doctors who accept state insurance, (in fact we kept our same doctor). When my dd needed to get into a cardiologist, the referral process was simple and we had an appointment within a couple weeks. The only thing that got denied was some acne medicine the doctor prescribed for my dd which wasn't necessary - so no big deal. When my dad was on Medicare and had bypass surgery plus numerous hospitalizations, again, no problem with finding doctors and getting bills paid. My fil had coverage through the VA. His wait times for visits was pretty crazy, but once he got in, he got decent care. Maybe this is dependent upon what state a person lives in? The area? Usually when I listen to people who are against universal healthcare, they cite the same issues you mention: the already existing problem with Medicaid/Medicare,VA. I'm wondering what the main complaints are? Trouble finding doctors who accept medicaid patients? Wait times for visits? (I have longer wait times with private insurance than my children do with CHIP). I'm not saying I'm in favor of expanding the already existing programs. I honestly don't know about that. I am in favor of universal healthcare. I'm just not sure how to go about it. It seems since we already have a program in place, why not use it? I'm not wishing my life away, but I'm counting the years until I'm eligible for Medicare.

I know several families who lost friends and family members, and one man who lost his job, when they converted to Catholicism, and I know a woman who lost friends when she left the Catholic Church for the Lutheran church. It definitely goes both ways. Generally, I don't think changing churches, if you've been actively involved, is ever easy and without some loss. In the end, you have to make the decision that keeps you closest to Jesus, if that is what you believe. People who care about you and your daughter will remain your friends, whether Catholic, Episcopal, non-Christian, or atheist.

I was in a similar situation with my dd. I didn't forbid her from seeing him because, honestly, I didn't know how to enforce that. Short of me not allowing her to leave the house, I had no way to make sure she didn't see him. She had her driver's license, had a job, was active in her church youth group which all gave her plenty of opportunities to see him - unless I followed her to work, church, and other activities. Plus, I couldn't stop him from attending church activities or hanging around where she worked. Another thing that made it very hard in our particular situation was that his family was very active in our church homeschool group, a very close knit group. All our children's friends, and many of our friends, were part of this group. Frankly, at that time I don't think anyone would have believed that this family's son could be bad news, but bad news he was. Her father and I talked to her frequently about what we saw; of course, she denied everything and told us we were imaging things. Fortunately, one of the youth group leaders saw some unhealthy behavior on his part, and she also talked to my dd. Not that my dd listened to her either, but that meant I had another set of eyes and another voice backing me up. I tried sharing some concerns with his mother, but that did not go well. I wish I could say it all turned out fine (it finally did but not before some real damage was done). Things escalated to where we forbade him to come on our property, and at that point told our dd she could not see him anymore. My dh called his parents and told them he wasn't allowed on our property (he wasn't 18 yet), but they didn't believe us plus really had little control over him. The youth minister tried to talk to his mother sharing what she had witnessed, but that ended up making the situation even more hostile. It ended with us having to call the police, and a few very uncomfortable encounters with his family. I'm so glad that we had a close relationship with our dd, and even though she didn't believe us at first about him, she still came to us when she needed help. I had had 'bad' feelings about him and had been told a couple of things, but I didn't really know how bad it was. I still look back and wonder what we could have done differently. If we had forbid her from seeing him early on, what could have happened? She could have run off with him, and it could have been much worse. Or, maybe it would have died out, and we would have been saved a lot of grief. I really suspect it would have been worse if we had forbidden it up front, but who knows. It's one thing I still have a lot of guilt over even though it was 10 years ago. No good answer to your question. I would keep my eyes and ears open and talk with her a lot. Parenting teens sometimes is just plain hard. And I hate teen dating. Many come out of it unscathed, but some don't. I haven't had to deal with teen dating with my next two dds, thankfully, but I still have two more to go. And I still don't feel qualified.

The nosey neighbor would bother me far more than the fact there was a suicide in the house.

I went from a long, hippy style (usually pulled back in a clip or french braid) to a shoulder length bob. It looks so much better, and I can still pull it back when I'm gardening. I had a short pixie, and it was just way too much upkeep for me.

Yes and we did. We bought the house from my parents. Many things went into the decision: we were looking for a house at the time, we wanted more room and ground, we still lived in the same city, and the price was right. So, it all lined up. If it hadn't been the right decision for what we needed, then no I wouldn't have done it. Even though I have nothing but wonderful memories growing up here and love my childhood home. It it wasn't a good move, it wouldn't be right.

I always had my mom until she passed away. I have my dh and my adult dds. I had a very close friend with whom I would share personal matters until I found I couldn't. I have trust issues now with friends so I stick with family. At least, family that have proven my trust isn't misplaced.

Thanks for the suggestions. Now we have a shopping list.

Oh, I wasn't quibbling with you; I was quibbling with myself. :001_smile:

I was wondering what makes a book a work of historical fiction and wondered about The Grapes of Wrath, A Tale of Two Cities, My Antonia and such. That would have made my list much longer.

I never thought of maple syrup because I didn't know you could take it on the plane. I'm not much of a traveler. I like that idea.

My dd is studying in Germany this summer and wants to give a gift to the family she will be staying with. When it comes to buying gifts, I am pretty clueless. I was thinking something unique from America, but what in the world would that be??? And what is appropriate?

I haven't read any historical fiction for quite a long time (can't seem to find anything I care for), but there were a few I remember that I liked. None of them are very recent books, and I can't say that I loved all of them. In no particular order The Good Earth The Far Pavillions The Greenlanders Daughter of Time Crown in Candlelight (can't remember how much romance in this one) Chesapeake I Claudius Wild Swans The Historian Death Comes as the End The Red Tent The Killer Angels Death Comes for the Archbishop The First Man in Rome The Greek Treasure The Plantagenet Series by Thomas Costain My sister gave me a couple books by Philippa Gregory, which I couldn't get into, and The Name of the Rose, which I haven't attempted yet. In high school I remember loving Dear and Glorious Physician, Great Lion of God, Glory and the Lightning and A Pillar of Iron by Taylor Caldwell. I just gave those to my dd who was asking for some historical fiction but without all the sex.

I'm sorry. It is horrible. My friend's son killed himself by gunshot when he was 15. My dd - they were good friends - still has difficult times when we talk about him. I can't imagine the grief his family has gone through and how they have survived. :grouphug: :grouphug:

I frequently see dogs in stores (Home Depot, B&N). The first few times I was surprised, but it hardly registers anymore. I don't think I've ever seen one in a grocery, other than service dogs, though. I will start paying more attention. Generally, if the dog is well trained, I don't mind. But a grocery store, No.

Yeah, sadly I agree.

Of course, this isn't new behavior, and just because my dh didn't experience it where he attended school, doesn't mean it wasn't going on. He did say there was usually a coach around who would have squashed that behavior very quickly. What I'm curious about is how many boys are actually comfortable with this behavior? I would think - hope - that even greater number of boys today would not be okay with it than were 40 years ago when dh was playing sports in high school. I keep thinking we've made some progress against misogynistic attitudes and the objectifying of women among young men. That's where I feel rather clueless since I don't have boys. The boys my girls are friends with appear to be respectful of girls, but who knows what they do when they're alone. My dh has always been disgusted by the objectifying of women. It's not something he could have ignored when he was in school. He would have said something or quit. He just doesn't have any patience for that. But, maybe he's the odd man out. I don't know. I would hope that the greater majority of guys are disgusted by that kind of behavior, but are maybe afraid to speak up and take a stand. If most guys don't approve (and that's what I choose to believe), I wish they would recognize the power they have in their numbers to put a stop to this. Then again, maybe I'm totally out of touch.

:grouphug: :grouphug: My dd was just reading this book (on my recommendation - Bryson, not specifically this book). She was so disappointed. It went back to the library today, unfinished. She felt he was condescending, rudely making fun of people, plus she tends to be sensitive about language. I warned her that his books occasionally have language, but this one seemed to have a lot more than his others. She only made it to ch. 4, I think, and gave up. I suggested A Walk in the Woods, but now I'm wondering if my memory is failing me and she won't enjoy it either. On another note, last night I finally got around to going through my latest book purchases from our library book sale and found a treasure I had completely forgotten. Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym. I've never read it! She started it before WWII, but for some reason never sent it to the publishers. No, it doesn't take much to excite me. I feel the same way about Barbara Pym as I do Joesephine Tey: they both died too soon and left too many books unwritten. Anyway, I'm a very happy reader right now. I vowed I would finish the current novel I'm reading, Season of Storms, but I can feel my resolve weakening.

Thanks. I'm feeling more relieved.

So, educate this mother of only girls. Does this behavior really not bother most guys? I was just talking to my dh about this thread, and he was appalled by it. He's a man; he played sports in high school; he spent time in locker rooms. He said there was definitely language, and there were certain guys that talked about the girls, but that's where it ended. Should this behavior be ignored? Is this just a matter of women having their sensibilities offended? eta: dh was disgusted by the behavior. He was appalled the coaches weren't doing anything about it.

Exactly. If my dh were exposed to such behavior and he complained, people would listen to him. Why does this high school have to put up with it. We have enough multi million dollar lawsuits because of sexual harassment. It's not acceptable behavior.

This is a high school with students ranging in age from 14 to 18? I can't believe that behavior is not against school rules. Like another poster mentioned, it could be a lawsuit waiting to happen. Where are the coaches/adults? OP - your son's uncomfortable feelings are legitimate. He does not have to be comfortable with that behavior. And I don't know why he should have to swallow his discomfort and let it go. I've always told my girls their feelings of discomfort are valid and not to ignore them. I would do the same for a son.