You are not alone. No graphic tees for me. My books distort whatever words or design are on the tee. I don't need any assistance drawing people's eyes towards my magnificent books.

I am trying to understand why your insurer is being swamped with colonoscopies. Who wakes up saying sign me up for one of those? I agree that there are some people who have the mindset of run up the bill it is someone else's tab but I do think they are a minority. Invasive tests are uncomfortable and sometimes painful. Most people I know are looking to avoid screening tests such as colonoscopy.

I often wonder if anyone actually wears some of those shirts. I have never met anyone who owns them. Although, I have always liked the warning one posted above.

Evite sends reminders and allows you to send a message with a reminder if you like I misplace snail mail invites all the time. Even though I have an official slot for them they get buried. Which is why I try to RSVP as soon as an ivite is received.

I mostly agree with this statement. However, dh sees a couple of specialists who don't take any insurance. We pay out of pocket for them because they are not in our network. I suspect a single payer system will lead to more doctors to opt out of insurance all together. That said, I am still in favor of universal healthcare. It will be a painful conversion to a single payer system but in the long run a healthy populace helps us all.

Americans put up with this nonsense for multiple reasons. 1. Health care is a for profit industry. That means as a society we value profit over people. 2. People consistenly vote against their own best interests. Social programs are bad, except for medicaid and social security. And even those should go away becasue people should be able to manage their own finances. People who are barely able to put food on the table buy into this thought process. Ignoring the fact that they don't have the money to manage now. 3. There is big money to be made in a lifetime of treating symptoms versus a cure. Inusrance or no insurance I have to shell out big bucks for some of the meds my husband nees. Even with insurance my copays add up to thousands.

I agree. We are still pending waiting for a hearing date. Dh has been unable to work for 3 years now and it will probably be at least another year before he gets his hearing date which can be a year from when they tell you the date. It is absolutely ridiculous.

I haven't purchased aetna in 3 years in my state through the exchange because they were always the most expensive. They are pulling out because they are not making enough profit To be honest, all the insurance companies are the same. Deny, make people appeal, don't cover the compounded medications dh takes. When you treat people like profit margins this is what you get. Profits over people. The big insurance companies are not suffering. Less profit, probably but still boatloads of profit.

Thank you. This is very helpful.

We also have a large deductible. If I have to pay it off over the next ten years, so be it.

Let me preface by stating I am thankful I have insurance and for the most part it covers what I need. However, my dh is going for his colonoscopy tomorrow and my insurance informed me that the screening is covered 100% but if they find something and it becomes diagnostic, i.e. removing a polyp then we are responsible for a deductible. I find that so ridiculous. Like the doctor should leave the polyp so we can get pre-approval for the procedure and do it again. These are the moments that leave me shaking my head and laughing at the lunacy.

I've done RSVP and regrets only RSVP parties. Response rate is about the same. Some people respond anyway because they didn't read regrets only and some people don't respond and also don't show up. I do find I get the best response rate from evite.

We drop ds off next week for the first time. He doesn't know a soul. And we are all happy that he gets to reinvent himself as he sees fit. No one to remind him of the past and every ridiculous thing he has done. However, he will be swimming for his college and I do think that makes a bit of all difference because the team comes and finds you and welcomes you to campus. He and the room mate he was matched with have texted a few times. His room mate is already there because he does a fall sport. Hopefully, they get along or at least respect one anothers space. I didn't know anyone when I went to college but I commuted from home. Dh knew people but it was a big campus and he never saw them. I think either way the kids find their way.

My dd was 12 before she stopped having weekly accidents. Very heavy sleeper.it runs on dh's side of the family.

My husband takes it. He has not experienced side effects. He takes it up to 3x a day.

In theory you are correct. However, many parents suffer from "not my special snowflake" syndrome. Bullying is ultimately why we started homeschooling. A group of girls were terrorizing my son. I worked with the school for two years. Somehow it was always my sons fault that he was a target. He eventually stopped saying anything because the teachers didn't do anything. I actually called the mothers of some of the girls after one incident. One was horrified and spoke with her daughter and called me back with "her daughter didn't do it" and the other mother insisted on knowing the names of the other girls (I wouldn't tell her) because her angel would never do such a thing. My son told me she was the ring leader. Kids on the block used to bully my son, too. The girl would make up stories and her father would always get on my case about what my son was doing. Other parents on the block knew what was going on but the father of the bully didn't believe it. After awhile I just told my kids not to hang out with the kids on the block. If they were all playing together as soon as the girl showed up I told my kids to come home. The other bullying on the block was typical group dynamic situations that would arise.

The bullying has always been there. The difference between my being bullied and today is social media. At the end of the day I left my bullies at school and did not have to deal with them once I got home. Today, you can't escape it. They get your cell phone number. They take embarassing photos and send it to everyone. They set up websites dedicated to making fun of you. They stalk you online. It feels extra hopeless. It is tragic and I really wish there was someway to fix it.

I don't do anyhting special in terms of food. If a friend wants something we don't have I simply state this is what we have. Take it or leave it. I do not engage in conversation about our food choices. Mostly I offered up popcorn. It is inexpensive and easy to make a lot of. Friends who have food allergies usually brought their own snacks due to cross contamination issues.

Yes, I am a reader. As is my mohter. My ds used to be a reader. Now he reads for pleasure occasionaly. My dd was never as a big a reader. She will also occasionaly read for pleasure. I lost them both to screens when they were in their early teens. I keep modeling reading and hoping that they return to it one day.

I live right by your childhood town. Sadly, I have to agree with your assessment. Now heroin is reigning supreme there and it is still poverty and crime infested.

I loved the suburban town where I grew up. An easy train ride into the city and idyllic where I lived. I had a great childhood in regards to parks, experiences, public school. However, I would never return to live there. My sister and I were both surprised that we had friends who couldn't wait to move to where we grew up and friends who never left. The town where we grew up has a strong undercurrent of money over everything else. You need to wear the right clothes, drive the right car. Our parents managed to subvert that culture in teaching us the values we have. I am not sure how they did it since we had the right cars, and some designer clothes, etc. I would also not go back because it is too built up now. Not as much open space as when I was growing up.

I have been thinking about this for days. I think I would not want to be told. If I was truly blissfully unaware I would like to continue in my blissful ignorance. If I do know but have chosen to stay in the relationship I would not want people telling me about it. For example, people who confess a fling to their spouse are only doing so to make themselves feel better. It certainly isn't doing anything for the spouse who just had their world shattered. But, hey, you feel better for confessing. So bully for you. If my spouse is having a long term affair, maybe even having another family. I think I might still want to be blissfully unaware if I thought I was happy. Mind you, 20 something years ago an affair would have had me packing my bags and walking out the door. I know now that an affair is a symptom of something else. Maybe something I want to fix maybe not but I won't know until I am in that position and hopefully I never will have to find out.

My mother saved nothing. I wish I still had my little people from the 70's. I had the armless people, the dog, the schoolhouse, and the ferris wheel. And I also wish she saved my fisher price tic toc clock. I loved that clock. Played with it for hours. I was lucky to get out of childhood with some of my stuffed animals and books. My mom is not sentimental and tosses liberally. I have saved the Thomas the Tank Engine trains and tracks, wood blocks, and some classic board games. There is a bunch of toys I am waiting for my teens to be ready to let go of.

I wouldn't have stopped but I would have called the police to notify them of where someone was broken down. Safety first.

Wow, their choice. You do realize that there are many people who are not working by choice. They are working to support their family, or put food on the table, or a multitude of other reasons. You are so smug in your superioty that you are incapable of comprehending what I am saying. That all working parents are well aware that their children are hitting milestones while they are at work. That their child is learning and growing while they are not there. That is usually why they do extensive research to find the best daycare they can afford. It is not deluding to partake in a little fantasy when you are well aware of what is going on. I am going to assume that I am applying a tone to your words that is not the one you intend and recuse myself from further discussion on this topic.