I was at a funeral yesterday where masks were required and on a stand at the entrances. And the family asked that people be encouraged to participate by watching the livestream on facebook. The family did not mix with others outside the family before or after, and the pastor who led the service told people at the end, that due to the virus, the family was waiting in a room until others dispersed, and would not be receiving/greeting people at this time. And thank you for being understanding. (Another older family member had died from the virus a couple of months earlier.) ETA: I was not actually in the same room as the funeral, but was more isolated because I was helping with one aspect of it that did not require me to interact with anyone. ETA again: I'm so sorry, both for your loss and that you are having to deal with this stress on top of it. I posted this before I read the second page, and it sounds like your MIL has already had so much interaction with others that this might not protect her so much as yourselves and others. Really, I'm so sorry about all of this on your behalf. And I'm sorry that all those who are suffering through grief during these days can't have the physical support of family and friends like one needs during these times.

I keep feeling frustrated by someone wrong in person...

One thing I keep thinking of is that I get headaches, mild sniffles, and a mild dry cough related to allergies pretty often. (I did check recently to see how easy it is to get a test here, because it is said that anyone who wants to get one, even without symptoms, should be able to. However, from the steps I took, I couldn't figure out how to make it happen.) Under the criteria, I would be considered to have symptoms. But I don't believe I have the virus, and am still going in to work, etc. If I do get it, then yes, I can look back and say I had symptoms. I won't stay home for weeks though, due to a headache, sniffles, and dry cough, because I keep those most of the time, and they haven't changed. At first, I was concerned, but I don't think I'm being irresponsible--it's just how do you make those determinations when it's typical for many people like me?

Hmm. Sounds like it might be more of a ploy than a plan.

She's adorable!

I think one of those see-through masks would be needed. In the language studies I have done, it was important to see how the mouth formed the sounds.

Same here.

I didn't see the original post, but something someone posted above made me think of this. Just disregard if it doesn't apply. In times like these, when there is constant stress and things are culturally turbulent, it is easy to get things like compassion fatigue, or grief fatigue. It doesn't mean those qualities are no longer a part of us, but they can get at least temporarily exhausted, and it is hard to feel anymore. So then we start to wonder what is wrong with us, that we don't grieve something, or don't feel sad over something that we know objectively should be grieved. Those fatigues sometimes warp our perspectives, and we need real soul rest before we can recover. So if this applies, I pray that God will give you rest and peace in your soul, so that you can find the needed balance again for your life.❤️

I'd love to get a cabin at a state park in the mountains. The ones I'm familiar with are usually spaced out fairly well. Then I'd take a good supply of nutritious but easy to prepare foods, leaving the take-out option for a couple of meals. Good books, games, walks, campfires, etc. Of course, that may not be too different from what a lot of people are doing at home these days. 😕 Since I am still working, it sounds wonderful to me! Especially if I'm where we could get in some swimming/kayaking as well.

Something I have wondered--can they test T-cells instead of for antibodies in a fairly simple way? I don't know anything about T-cells.

I haven't read the other responses due to time right now. I don't really call my in-laws anything. Many years ago, I asked them what I should call them. MIL kind of laughed, and said, "Whatever you want." Which meant I never called them anything, because I never found sometime I was comfortable with. Once or twice in the many years we have been married, I called them "Mr./Ms. FirstName" but even that was uncomfortable. Dh calls/called my parents Mr./Mrs. LastName. It wasn't stilted or formal or uncomfortable, it just fits who they are. Because of the situation with my in-laws, we specifically told our children's spouses to call us by our first names. Some of our younger in-laws seem to feel a little uncomfortable with that. One's parents have dd call her mom/dad (I think), but internally, I don't like it, and don't want him to call us that, even though we love him dearly. It's their family custom, but I reserve that name for my mom only, and privately want that for myself as well. The other one's parents have dd call them Dr./Mrs. LastName, and it suits them (they are our age, but seem more like my parents' generation), but that doesn't suit us. I'm fine with our grandparent names being used if they are more comfortable with that. Ddil seems to be fine with our first names, but she is an older professional. Our young dsils--well, we should probably re-visit that with them so that it is comfortable. Different family cultures can just make it awkward sometimes.

I've been wondering this too! I hope someone will have updates.

I'm uncomfortable without one--during the day--because I need the support. I'm quite large, and have had and nursed a lot of babies. My girls are very heavy, and I, too, have permanent grooves in my shoulders. So I'm too large and floppy to go without, but I'm so glad to take my bra off in the evenings. When my bras start to get old, then the straps start to cut my shoulders. My short-term relationship with underwires was unpleasant. I wear a Bali brand that I am reasonably pleased with. I can usually get it for a great price on Amazon. I do sometimes think it would be wonderful to be small up top and not carry that heaviness around.

I think I will need to look at this. I don't care for the swearing. Overall, I got the feeling that this is so layered that I'm going to have to do some research and watch it more to appreciate more fully the genius of it. I'm pretty culturally illiterate, especially in the hip hop/rap genres, so I know I missed a lot of the richness due to that. It left me a lot more thoughtful than I expected (I had only heard the soundtrack once or twice). So many deep themes running through it. The "forgiveness" phrase caught me off guard, and was one of the most powerful moments for me personally.

😐https://www.al.com/news/2020/07/5-children-including-infant-hospitalized-in-huntsville-with-coronavirus.html The video embedded is worth watching, imo, especially as referring to masking.

Grilled hamburgers and hot dogs Grilled corn on the cob Veggies with dip Watermelon (probably later in the afternoon) Ice cream and maybe brownies or cake to go with it

Makes perfect sense to me. In spite of what others may think of my comments above, I really am not in favor of the "good ol' boys" club system.

I certainly don't mean it as offensive. But I have seen people turn situations that were totally innocent into something sordid and fodder for rumors and gossip, so I understand why any person, male or female, minister or not, who was concerned about that, would be cautious. I don't think there is anything wrong with the kinds of interactions you are talking about above. Sometimes the job requires it. But I can also understand why some would want to avoid the 1:1, and it doesn't always have to do with the possibility/potential of their own uncontrolled passions. I recognize that many don't see that and think it's some kind of old-fashioned misogynistic nonsense, but I think, especially in some kinds of occupations where an assumption (in error or not) can destroy people, ministries, careers, etc., some caution in these areas can be wisdom.

@Dreamergal, I don't think it applies to American Christianity alone, but to American culture in general (and I have lived in other cultures where it was common to always think the worst), that people like to tear down others. Rumors and gossip are common all over the world. In one country where we lived, I was shocked to learn that because an elderly man ate lunch sometimes at his nephew's and niece's (niece by marriage), and sometimes the nephew wasn't there, gossip was that he bought them a new oven because he was having an affair with the woman. I read it as he wanted to help them out because they watched out for him and cared for him. Perhaps it is experiences like that that cause me to be more cautious. Like I said, I've never been in a situation where I had to worry about it myself.

Exactly. I added an edit to my post as well. And the bolded--It doesn't mean that they think they would throw themselves on the bed with a person of the opposite sex just because they were there. "Avoiding the appearance of evil" is biblical. It can just as easily be seen as a way to respect your spouse and protect the honor of your marriage, but it seems that rather than honorable, in this thread, it is seen as weak and repulsive, attributing mal-intent to something that is not. My dh and I are similar to yours in how we handle this, I believe. Though honestly, neither of us is in a position with our work to have to make decisions that would affect our work--it would be more thought weird in our circumstances if we felt we had to have a lunch or dinner with only one person over work. Group lunches are not weird, because we work more in groups. So I guess it has never come up. We did have a couple of situations when we were living overseas and had young women working with us that were under dh's supervision, where he made sure there was nothing that could be considered questionable. But that was as much to protect the young women's reputations as anything, because he knew how it could be viewed by others in those cultures.

Uh, wow. Very much a misunderstanding of what I was trying to express. As to the bold, I was not in any way excusing the true infidelities of evangelists or blaming them solely on the women. I was just stating that those infidelities happened. Which meant that people, like Graham, who were trying to uphold their reputations were extra-cautious to not give anyone cause to suspect them of it by making sure there were always others around and they would be considered above reproach. Nothing like what you are assuming from this. As to your response to the red, consider how the media on both sides twists things all the time to say what they want to say, with text, photos, videos, etc. It is easy to be ruined these days by people who would want to pull you down whether you have done anything wrong or not. I'm heading to work and don't have time right now to answer more thoroughly, but I don't understand the outrage and feelings being so strong that he did wrong in this. ETA: Context matters as to the true situation. But again, people who want to think the worst can twist things however they want. And others are often all too happy to believe them. If Graham had been maligned like that, there would have been many who would have said, "See there? All Christians are alike, just hypocrites, and what they preach doesn't mean a thing." And that would have, in Graham's thinking (if I understand correctly), maligned the Gospel, which he loved and gave his life to.

I have a vague memory of reading of Billy Graham's policies from his own writing. It wasn't as it is being presented here. In those days, it was not unusual (I guess it's still true today) for famous evangelists' ministries to be completely lost, their reputations ruined, their Christian testimonies thrown away, through infidelities. These things could also potentially happen through compromising-appearing photographs, lies told by someone wanting personal attention, or any number of ways caused by people wanting to ruin or bring down someone like him. I heard a well-known Christian man whose name you would all recognize tell of one time a woman wanted her picture taken with him. He posed with her, as a friendly gesture, and at the last second, she opened her coat to reveal...much of herself. It was all a ruse to compromise his reputation. When you understand that there are people out there like that who want to ruin people like these men, it makes the policies they hold make a lot more sense.

On the tangential topic 😄, we have had a very varied life, and in the process, I learned a lot of street smarts. I wouldn't say I am hypervigilant, but I am certainly aware. I tell myself that it isn't worry, but rather preparation, lol. Interestingly, when my father died, I was much more prepared than my siblings, because I had thought through the scenarios every single time we left to go overseas. ETA: One effect of this mindset is that there is little that surprises me. So with our children, we have tried to emphasize that they can come to us with anything. We have seen a lot, and so while we hope for the best and encourage them to strive for that, we recognize our own potential for failure in one aspect or another. We have high ideals and expectations for them, but can also come alongside with commiseration and understanding when they don't reach our or their own expectations. Doesn't mean we wouldn't be disappointed, but we also won't hit the roof. We do sincerely pray for them, because this world can be hard.

Ain't that the truth!! Perspective is a powerful thing.