Best gift: Christmas Eve at my sister's house with all the family and we did a Cajun boil. Worst gift: DH wanted a big TV so I surprised him with a 65-inch TV for a gift. My oldest son decides to gift us with a wall mount instead of using the TV stand. He proceeds to drill accidentally into a pipe and on Christmas Day I have water gushing everywhere in the livingroom. We shut the water off on Christmas Day and now I have a plumber out on after-Christmas morning to fix it. I'm in tears and so stressed out and everyone is upset with me. I want to take the TV back to the store or just toss it to the road. My son is so upset with me. I know it was an accident but honestly I didn't need to deal with plumbing issues on Christmas Day. Dinner was leftovers from Christmas Eve and I have stacks of dishes to do today when it's fixed. The plumber is happy - he gets really good pay for coming out today on his day off. I'm miserable. Sorry to vent about this. Everyone thinks I need to see a psychiatrist!

Last year, as a Christmas present to ourselves, we put in a walk-in shower, tiled, with a bench. Love, love, love it. However, the grout in the floor tile quickly became rusty colored - it was gray. We are on a well, and the water is hard so it discolored the grout. We installed a better water softener, and I called the grout manufacturer - Mapei. They sent me some heavy duty grout cleaner for free since apparently the grout was supposed to be super duper resistant to staining - it wasn't. Anyway, I haven't tried it yet since it comes with a very large safety warning about toxic fumes. Normally, I clean the grout with a mixture of water, peroxide, and Dawn in a spray bottle and scrub the grout with a toothbrush and then rinse off. This works well but the grout quickly discolors again.

My middle son graduated in 2018 with a bachelors in construction management. He was working before he graduated and is now a project manager, traveling around the country for a large contractor. He enjoys the work and pay but hates the traveling. He is also Hispanic (we adopted him at birth) and he really has encountered a lot of prejudice at first meetings with clients. He has had to learn to navigate the industry, but he's also one who is self-assured and charismatic - a little too much self-assured sometimes! But it's a good career field if you are an extrovert and love building things. My youngest is a total introvert and would hate that job - he's an adjunct history professor and researcher. My middle son started in architecture but didn't like it and switched majors to construction management.

Yesterday, my granddaughter had her 9th birthday party. Some background: My son is divorced from my granddaughter's mother for 7 years, but they have worked hard to be cordial and do get togethers for the sake of their only child. My ex-DIL has made life choices that I don't agree with, but I don't ever voice my opinions about them to anyone except my husband. We stay out of her life as much as possible, and really only interact with concerns with my granddaughter. We babysit a lot, and my ex-DIL has always been sweet and cooperative about us being in our only grandchild's life. But she's living with a man now after divorcing another husband (who was a sweet man) who does not like all this co-parenting. We had the party at my ex-DIL's house, from about 2-4 pm with just family and a few friends. By 3:30, the boyfriend was yelling at my ex-DIL from the house (because he did not want to be around us). We were all uncomfortable but just played nice because the kids were having a good time. Finally at 4 pm, the boyfriend told my son that he was going to let out his Great Pyrenees, who is aggressive and bites, and my son got mad and said he would shoot the dog if anything happened. Then, at 4:30, the cops showed up because the boyfriend wanted us off his property: two grandmas, one grandpa, three aunts, eight cousins, and two long time friends of my son. The cops were very nice and talked to the boyfriend, but by this time, my granddaughter was in full melt down mode, my ex-DIL was in a screaming fight with the boyfriend, and we all began to clean up to leave. My son was advised to apologize and his statement of shooting the dog, which he did, and the cops left. My husband and I stayed to help clean up, and the boyfriend comes out to give us a snarky, Thanks for coming by. To which, I replied, Thanks for calling the cops and ruining my granddaughter's day, you a**hole. Then, this guy, obviously drunk, started to come down towards me, and my goodness I was mad. I said, You take another step towards me and you are definitely going to need to call the cops again because I'm going to beat the sh** out of you. My son came running towards me, but I didn't need him really. I was beyond mad. So, the boyfriend turns around and walks back into the house. We finish cleaning and leave. I told my ex-DIL to come and stay with us if she needs to. Her mother (the other grandma) was urging her daughter to leave. So far, I haven't heard anything, but I cried when I got home and was all stressed out. My son has now given an ultimatum to his ex-wife that their daughter is not to be around the boyfriend at all - and he will go to court to get custody if necessary. I don't know how this will all end. We are keeping my granddaughter this whole next two weeks because of this situation as my son is adament that his daughter not go back into the living situation with her mom until this boyfriend is no longer living in the home. Anyway, I'm still stressed about this. I love my granddaughter so much and things were going so well until this guy came into my granddaughter's life. Update: Thank you for the comments. I posted unfortunately while I was still very emotional about this. I do appreciate the opinions and insights into this situation, and I agree wholeheartedly that my anger overcame my mouth and I spouted off at the boyfriend. His snarky comment of “Thanks for coming” just really was the end for me. Sadly though, the update is not good. My exDIL did stay to pack a bag to leave to go to a friends. We had my granddaughter and had left at this point. The boyfriend got violent and the police were called back as well as the boyfriends mother. Due to his mental state, the cops called for an ambulance and the boyfriend is now in a psychiatric hospital under emergency hold. I’m so glad that my granddaughter was not exposed to any of this. Some background to make thing clearer: *The house is a rental, with both signed on the lease. They just moved in actually. My exDIL had her own apartment but boyfriend needed a yard for his dog, a Great Pyrenees. *My ex DIL has made choices that I don’t agree with but she is a good mother in that she works hard to provide for her daughter. Both she and my son are good parents and both sides of the family get along. We don’t get together except for occasions like the birthday, but no fighting at all. This hit all of us because it was so unexpected. * We weren’t ignoring the boyfriends request to leave, but it was a pool party and it’s hard to get kids out of the pool and leave real fast. Plus, as I said, we have had birthday parties in the past before the boyfriend that were just relaxing and successful. This was a family get together with a couple family friends invited. *My exDIL has agreed to move. She’s asked us to keep our granddaughter for the next two or three weeks until she gets settled. There is a court mandated custody schedule of joint custody, but things had been going so well that my son and his ex had been more relaxed about things. For example, my granddaughter might stay longer with her mom if she wants. Plus, her mom and dad both work long hours, so we end up babysitting or doing school runs a lot. My son works 10 to 12 hours and my ex DIL works 6 days a week, so we have my granddaughter a lot. *I think the issue was the that the boyfriend just could not accept my son being in his ex wife’s life so much. It must be hard to come in to an established family, even an odd one like divorced exes who get along. My ex DIL second ex husband (too complicated!) was really accepting of this whole situation, and his family also showed up to birthdays and school functions. It was nice to have such a large group of people who got together to make a little girl happy. My granddaughter is still traumatized by this, and she’s gone from tears to anger all day. Luckily, she feels safe with us and knows that her mom needs time to get settled. I truly hope that this guy will no longer be around. Since he got violent after we left, I don’t think he’ll change overnight. Luckily, my exDIL is ok. Her mother was there and her stepfather too and the cops arrived quickly. *And no, my son doesn’t have a gun. He just spouted off in anger, like I did, since he didn’t want the dog to come out. The dog is very territorial and can be aggressive by growling and barking at others. And he’s huge so my son was concerned about the kids. He apologized when the cops advised him too, but it didn’t help the situation. Thanks for reading this long update. I hate this kind of conflict.

Best trip(s) Hawaii for two weeks, Oahu and the Big Island. Favorite places you stayed The Big Island - we rented a small house. Things you did that you loved We loved the volcanic pools on the Big Island. I also loved the whole feeling of being in such a beautiful place. I wanted to move there! Worst trip San Diego, Cal. Random things that happened to you on a trip Our first European trip was last year to London, Paris, and Rome. We had such a good time. I still remember the feeling of awe when we toured to Vatican and Sistine Chapel. Goals for your travel. Have you hit every state? Every national park? Every continent? Every country? Or something else? We hope to go to the Christmas markets in Germany in December but husband's health is not good so we are unsure. Most memorable trip or places? Alaska - seeing the Northern Lights or the whales on a tour or Denali or the wildlife. The fishing was wonderful.

I have to admit that I love my Insta Pot. I use it for soups, roast, and cooking rice. I still have my old (from 1978!) slow cooker that cooks great, but the new crockpots cook way to fast - all my roasts were tough. My sister gave me her old Insta Pot when she got a bigger one, and I love it! We can make a roast in it that is very tender. Plus, I have a spoiled dog that loves chicken (plain) and rice, so I make lots of rice. I hope they don't go out of business, but I'm sure there a plenty of InstaPots in stock or yard sales if mine breaks.

I love these stories! I have one mixed dog who is so gentle and kind, especially with kids, but she is vicious to delivery drivers (especially UPS) that we have to keep her locked up in the house if expecting any deliveries. But the one time that she acted definitely differently, I was home alone and a man in a white pick up truck came by and started walking around the house. My dog was outside and was on him at his heels - snarling, biting, and her hackles raised. I came outside, very scared, and asked what he wanted. My dog got even more vicious - trying to jump and bite his neck - when I came outside. He gave a weak excuse (Oh, I'm with the electric company.) and drove off, my dog chasing his pickup down the driveway. I called the electricity company - no one matched his description. So, I called the police and gave them a report. Nothing came of it but my dog stayed by my side all that day. I love this dog so much. My son had a Doberman that was the most gentle dog ever that got cancer and had to be put to sleep last October. When she went into her Doberman stance, ears up, glassy eyed, super focused, and very still - she was definitely scary looking. She never strayed from your side, especially my granddaughter. She was a natural guardian. But would she attack an intruder? We never had that experience but I do think if anyone tried to do anything to my granddaughter that her Dobie would have torn them apart. I loved my beautiful grand-dog. Dobermans are really wonderful dogs.

Yes, we are in the middle of the doctor issue. My DH had cardiac bypass surgery in December, only caught by our general practitioner because he was having shortness of breath. But...now the cardiologist, nephrologist, and endocrinologist are just not in the same boat about medication and no one consults with each other. It leads to some scary situations such as medication dosing and even simple things like fluid intake. The kidney doctor gets flustered when my husband reminds him that the cardiologist wants severe fluid limitation but the kidney doctor says no, that's not good. Then, medication dosing: The cardiologist doubles the diuretic dose but the kidney doctor scales it back! And they are in the same hospital but different medical organizations. The heart surgeon was very good but doesn't see patients after recovery. And the diabetic doctor refuses to listen to my husband about her insulin dosing being too much. So, it's very frustrating. No one listens to anyone else. And our general practitioner has been absolutely no help at all in these issues. Each specialist looks at only their specialty and not the WHOLE body.

I watched the coronation highlights and enjoyed the whole beauty of the ceremony, the history it represents, and the music was sublime. But as for royalty itself, I am not a fan of either Charles, Diana, or Camilla. They are/were deeply flawed people. Camilla does seem to make Charles happy, so that's good, but they caused so much hurt to others on their way to a happily ever after. I was blessed to visit London April 2022, and I was so overwhelmed with the beauty and history of Westminster Abbey, although my husband was very creeped out by the amount of graves that was inside the Abbey!

It sure is an epidemic where I live. For myself, I have my husband and sister but I honestly have no friends at all to hang out with. No one is interested in friendships in this area unless it benefits them. I go to church and used to be heavily involved in the music ministry, which I loved but only had aquaintences there but I had to drop out due to my husband's health. But I honestly love to hang out with my sister, so I don't feel lonely. My MIL though gets very lonely. She is widowed and the kids and grandkids are all busy to hang out daily with her. She has a part time morning job, which she likes, and has a group of "Red Hat Ladies" that meet weekly for supper. Plus she has her dog. But she's such an extrovert that it is hard for her to be alone, but I admire the way she goes about trying to get out of the house. My SIL, however, is also widowed and still works full time, and for her, she loves being at home alone since she's pulled in all different directions at work. For my kids (in their 20s), loneliness and lack of dating is a real problem. They rarely have dates nowadays or anyone to hang out with. My middle son, who is my social butterfly, just took a second job because he couldn't stand staying alone at home on his days off. I'm not sure the problem - it's like the problem with me - people only seemed to be interested in friendship as long as you could benefit them. I think it's a problem across all ages and socioeconomic levels.

I have this exact same bowl! I've had it for a few years and love it. We use it for everything - granddaughter says its her popcorn bowl. I bought it originally to make jellies because my 12 cups of fresh fruit wouldn't fit in standard sized bowls. But this bowl has so many uses. It floats around the house since the granddaughter loves popcorn but can't be bothered to bring it back to kitchen. The other day she made bath bombs in it - I had to make sure to wash it out really good. I really should get another one come to think of it!

My MIL has owned and fostered rescue Yorkies for over 50 years. She is absolutely devoted to this breed of dog. I have never owned one, because IMO they are a time consuming dog. I like our dog: she's independent and calm. Yorkies are not. All of my MIL's Yorkies over the years have been high energy, extremely focused on their favorite person, and very smart. They love to play! They are not a dog to be left alone a lot. My MIL has owned her own business for many years, so she would just bring her dog along to work. It was her pride and joy. Before Christmas, her last Yorkie passed away suddenly from pancreatitis. She is currently looking for another Yorkie. The prices for these pups are outrageous - anywhere from $1000 to $2500! It used to be easy to find these pups but they seem to be very much in demand now! If you can get a puppy for free, I say go for it! They take some getting used to, but once you fall in love with these dogs you have a great companion. My son's Doberman was the same way, just a lot bigger! Needy, anxious, devoted to one person, and we ended up dog sitting a lot because you couldn't leave her alone. But, we all love this Dobie and we all were heartbroken when she passed away in October last year with cancer. My dog is a shepard mix and absolutely a joy. She's so calm and easy to care for.

Hello: After reading your update, I realize that my sister's situation was not quite the same as yours although I do think that the advice of counseling and putting your needs first is very appropriate. I agree with what others have said: You need to give up the caretaking position if at all possible. You are giving so much to so many but yet your life is suffering. I know in my case I was finally able to share responsibility for my sister's needs with one of her daughters after my niece relocated here.

Hello. I am not sure that this answer will help, but my sister went through a similar situation about 11 years ago. Her life imploded due to many factors and so did her health. All the people and things in her life that she thought were going to be "there" for her were just not and she was alone to try to navigate a very uncertain future. She is my only sibling. We did not live in the same city, and thankfully, she moved over to my city to start over. I think it was really good for her. She did have to start over from nothing basically, but I was here to help her. Because of her health, she went on SSDI, so she had secure income and medical benefits. She is doing much better now. She and I have become good friends again, and I am forever grateful for that. It wasn't easy for her. She attended psychological, psychiatric, and support groups for about five years, but now she only sees her medical doctor. She has an easygoing life, which suits her, with hobbies and travel and family. She still battles depression and health problems, but she is doing better. I'm not sure that this is the same as your situation, but I think in any situation that moving, counseling, and giving yourself time to heal will be very beneficial. I hope that you are able to find a new path forward in the future. It's hard to start over but sometimes it ends up being the best thing that could happen to you!

I've told my story several times about dealing with a special needs child and an unreasonable school official (back in 2002), which led to our homeschooling. In my experience: 1. If you can afford it, get a lawyer to intercede on your behalf with the school. Consider pressing charges or even suing. 2. Definitely, pull your child out and make other arrangements if at all possible. 3. Get in on record with the school district about this person's behavior. If you get a lawyer, make sure it is sent from the lawyer's office. 4. Never, ever, ever deal with this person without an eyewitness on your behalf or a recording (make sure you check the laws in your state about recording conversations). They can just say you are an overreacting, coddling, nervous, emotional, etc mother. We could not afford a lawyer at the time, but we did get the whole incident on paper and complained to everyone in the school administration. Didn't make much difference really. This school official is still in their job even after 20 years and still causing drama and unhappiness. We ended up homeschooling and never dealt with the public school system again, all because of this one person. And now my special needs child is 25, in grad school, and passionate about education! So glad I didn't leave him in the public schools where we live. I'm sure he would have just been overlooked all 18 years of his education.

My sister and I ate relatively normally while growing up. My mom was not too stringent on healthy foods, so we had a good mixture of junk vs healthy food. Funny, I still relate bananas with grocery shopping. We would come home from school, and if there were bananas on the counter, then Mom had gone grocery shopping! She only shopped ONCE a month, so the bananas were really a treat. My mom froze a lot of foods, like breads and milk, so that during her month between shopping trips she would just pull stuff out of the freezer. No fresh foods though until grocery shopping day. Me - I go to the grocery store or produce stands about twice a week. I love fresh fruits. My husband absolutely forbids me to freeze milk (says it tastes gross), so we also get that from the store. My mom was also a big scheduler and never deviated. Sundays was pot roast and potatoes and carrots, Monday was Polish sausage and sauerkraut, Taco Tuesday, Wednesday was butter beans and ham, Thursday was fried chicken and mashed potatoes, Friday was frozen pizzas, Saturday was sandwiches or if we were lucky out to eat, which was rare. (I can still remember this schedule after all these years and I'm 62!) These were Mom's favorite dishes, and after I got married and left home, I NEVER ever fixed butter beans. I hate them. My sister still cooks Polish sausage and sauerkraut and butter beans and ham, but not on schedule!, and my husband will go to her house to eat because he loves those dishes. I never scheduled my meals to that point although I did do menu planning for supper when my boys were younger so I at least didn't have to stress about meals. But now that we are empty nesters, sort of, we just eat what we feel like! We don't eat out much anymore. The week I keep my granddaughter though we are back to the pizzas, spaghetti, and Mexican foods that her dad (my son) loved to eat growing up. When it's just my husband and I, we eat a lot of salads in the summer and soups in the winter.

It was a big transition for our family. My husband retired from his job the same year as our youngest started dual enrollment for his junior year. Basically, our homeschooling journey ended in 2014, but five or six years prior to that, I had enrolled them in a homeschooling group that was fee based and they did the majority of their classes there from seventh grade to tenth grade. A friend of mine sold me her small online business, and I ran that until Dec 1, 2021. I really enjoyed doing that business for sewing and making clothes, but it became very hard to maintain prices due to increased costs. So, we closed the business. Now, we are planning traveling adventures, taking care of my granddaughter, and I do keep sewing but this time for myself. I have always enjoyed sewing for many years, but I lost my enjoyment of it when I was doing it for a business. I might open an Etsy store next summer. I used to have one. My husband and I were just talking about this subject. He is very bored. He enjoyed working and coming home to a busy household. Now, our lives are quieter. He used to work part time at Lowes to fill his time until the pandemic. Now, he is working on finishing an addition to our home. I like our quieter life. I can tell I am getting older and less inclined to deal with drama and arguments. I get my granddaughter every other week, so I'm still involved in school (public) and soccer and the daily dramas of an 8-year-old, especially hair and clothes. But on my "off" week, I really enjoy the slow pace and daily naps. I will always, however, be grateful for my chance to homeschool my two youngest from kindy to high school.

-- What led you to homeschool? I have three sons. I tried homeschooling the oldest for fifth grade in 2001 when we moved, but it was a disaster. He hated homeschooling and felt very isolated in our new town. We sent him back to school in sixth grade. My two youngest were homeschooled from kindergarten through graduation. They were 11 months apart and very close, and much younger than our oldest. They loved homeschooling. Our reasons for turning to homeschooling was due to my youngest son, who had severe speech delay. His speech didn't normalize until 7th grade, but I didn't want him to be placed in a special needs classroom because he was bright and capable. He just couldn't talk. Homeschooling was really our only option. Then, it just became a way of life for us. -- How was your child homeschooled in the high school years? (Did you use WTM as a guide? Did your child take out of the home, online classes, or college classes?) I was an eclectic homeschooler for curriculum. By the time my kids were in high school, they were in a homeschool group that was fee based and allowed them to choose classes. This was a great group that allowed them to get away from home twice a week and allowed me to not have to teach some of the more difficult classes. But by their junior/senior year, they were doing dual enrollment at the local community college. My youngest was a high achiever in all his classes. My middle son was the one who had to be pushed. He liked his classes, but didn't like to work hard for grades. -- What did your child do after graduating? What is your child doing now? Oldest: Went through high school, attended a welding trade school, and is now 32. He is making very good money and travels a lot for his job. Private life has been difficult. He is divorced and has a beautiful 8-y/o daughter that is with me quite a bit as both her mom and dad are not that interested in being full-time parents. I hate to put it that way but it's the truth. They are good parents, but both my son and ex-DIL, whom I get a long very well with, like having their own lives. They never really wanted kids. I feel like I'm raising another child, but this granddaughter is my true joy. She and I are very close. My son has been through several relationships since divorcing but always seems to choose to walk away and not commit. Not sure what he's looking for as he really gets lonely for a companion. I am hoping he gets some stability in this aspect of his life. Unfortunately, he is very, very dependent on us, especially his father, for emotional support. He is a wonderful son, very helpful, but worries incessantly about us. When we go on vacation, he is constantly checking in on us. He lives about 10 minutes away. He owns his own home. Middle: This one couldn't wait to move out. He graduated high school and then went away to college. He worked full time, went to school full time, and graduated by the skin of his teeth with an engineering degree. I never worried about this one other than his tendency to be lazy. He has great charm and can talk his way into a job, which he did! He is an engineer and travels around the country for his company because he can sale anything. He just bought his own townhouse. Wants to go into politics. Again, his private life is a sadness for him. Two engagements broken up, mostly because he is very possessive, and his two former fiancees were very independent women. He is now 26. Youngest: Just graduated with two bachelors degrees and headed to a masters program this fall because he doesn't know what else to do. But can't seem to find a job. This is driving his dad crazy. But my son tries. He applies for jobs but the interviews process is torture for him. Whereas his brother is charm personified, my youngest has social anxiety that is crippling. He lives with us right now. He is so sweet and sincere and hardworking, but he can't find his place yet. I worry about him. He has no friends and doesn't date and stays home all the time with his dad and me. If we go on vacation, he's in the back seat. We are his social life, and this makes me so sad. But he just can't seem to push himself to go out and meet people since his college classes ended. In the fall, though, he is moving in with his middle brother. I think this will be good. My middle son needs someone to watch his place when he travels, plus they are very close still and I think my middle son can push my younger son out into society a bit more. They will live an hour away (luckily near the graduate school), so we can still go see them if we have too. I can see my youngest becoming a college professor. He would make a wonderful special ed teacher though because of his nature, but he wants to go into research for history. Anyway, love this thread and so sorry for the long reply. This website was a lifesaver for me for many years. Now, I just come and pop in when I have time. I miss homeschooling, but I also like my retirement.

We bring our own but there are rental places there, usually $10 per day per tube.

Just returned from a week in Gatlinburg. I've been there many times. Some thoughts: 1. The Artist Circle is not going to last much longer I think. A lot of the old artisans have closed. We used to love to go there, and I still have a broom that I bought about 19 years ago! Now, it's all mass produced stuff, although still can find original pottery. 2. An overwhelming amount of new moonshine and winery stores. 3. Townsend is still peaceful. We swam and tubed at the Little River. Fun and free! 4. Went to Dolly Dixie Stampede. I did not like it at all, but my MIL and husband loved it. So, there you go. 5. We saw a bear at Cades Cove - and a lady chasing it to get a picture! People are so insane. 6. We always enjoy the Old Mill Restaurant and the Applewood Restaurant but portion sizes are huge! We plan another trip in October to go to the crafts fair. It's just a fun place to go and relax and eat and look at mountains.

Hi, We always rent a VRBO house, but if you prefer camping, there are several campgrounds in Townsend, including a good KOA. For hotels, we always stay at Hiland Manor. It's a dated hotel but clean, and the original owners are lovely people.

We are going to Gatlinburg tomorrow! We normally stay in Townsend, TN, which is on the back side of the park and a quiet alternative to the craziness of the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg crowd. We go about four or five times a year. Normally we avoid the summers but my MIL wants to go. My favorite things to do: Cades Cove drive The Titanic Museum Gatlinburg artist circle In the fall, we love their crafts fairs. We are going to the Dixie Stampede this time. We haven't been there before. Normally, we just go and enjoy a couple of days to drive and shop and eat. We had hoped to retire to Townsend/Maryville, but prices are so high that we just stayed home in Nashville. There is a good mixture of touristy as well as artistic and outdoor activities. Have fun!

Hello: I don't know if anyone is planning to travel to Europe soon, but I thought some might find our experiences helpful. We went for three weeks to London, Paris, and Rome and returned on April 15. We were very uncertain about going due to the spike in Covid as well as Ukraine, but we had a wonderful trip. We were in a travel group of 28 people (none known to us at the beginning), and unfortunately, seven did develop Covid and had to quarantine, despite all of getting our vaccines and boosters as well as testing negative one day prior to travel to London. We did have to test negative one day before we were allowed to fly home to the USA. So, Covid is still very much an aspect of traveling in Europe, but for the most part, we wore masks and stayed off public transportation as much as possible. All the people who tested positive rode the subways, since we had a lot of free time in our group travel. My husband and I stuck with walking or taxis. And, at least in London, we couldn't find anyone to take paper money. Everything was by "contactless". We used Apple Pay everywhere. This is the first time we had ever been to Europe, so we were excited and basically newbies to overseas travel. London was fantastic, Paris was sublime, but my favorite was Rome. Everywhere we went we were treated very courteously, and at least we got the impression that they were happy to see the American tourists coming back. Nothing was crowded, except the Trevia Fountain and the Vatican, so I guess it was a good time to travel. We would definitely advise anyone not to be afraid to travel now to at least western Europe. We had a wonderful time. And without a doubt, the Sistine Chapel was a highpoint to me-I burst into tears at the sheer beauty of it. And I wasn't the only person who cried. Our tour director told us later that is a common reaction to people who see the Sistine Chapel for the first time. And lastly, be prepared to walk. We walked a lot. A whole lot. A whole lot more than I thought we would. I had bought good shoes at Fleet Feet and they saved my feet. I thought I was in shape - but no. I wasn't. Stairs everywhere. Since I'm in my 60s, the Italians would give me a hand and say, Let me help you, Mama, as I went down the stairs. A lovely gesture but boy I felt old. Anyway, I thought this would help someone. We hope to go back in 2023 to Germany and Austria. But this time we will do it on our own. A tour group was too fast paced for us.

We upsized our home from 1800 to 3600 sq ft. We raised three kids in an 1800 sq ft, 5 acre home. We liked the location and have been here 22 years. After my husband retired in 2014, we started looking for a home that would better suit our needs: mainly the master bedroom suite on the main floor. We had originally wanted to move to East Tennessee, but our plans got changed when my granddaughter was born and we had to help out with babysitting. We looked in our local area but couldn't find anything that was even as nice as the home we currently owned. So, one evening, my husband sat down and designed a master bedroom addition to our home (adding about 900 sq ft). We got the rough drawing designed into blue prints by an architect, who then convinced us to add on a "bonus room." The additional cost was only $10,000 to add the bonus room because it had no plumbing or duct work. We put a mini split in the bonus room. To save costs, we did most of the work ourselves - really insane and will never do that again! Right now, we are finishing up the trim work and bathroom fixtures. I love it now that most of the work is done. The bonus room is my space. It's not finished completely yet, but I have my sewing and crafts area in it after years of sitting at the diningroom table. My granddaughter has her own room next to our new master bedroom, and upstairs we still have 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. My youngest moved home in 2020 due to the pandemic and is finishing college. He decided he liked living at home after all, especially since he has the upstairs to himself. My middle son moved home for 9 months in 2021 to save and buy a home, and we had plenty of room. Now, my oldest, who travels a lot for work, is seriously thinking of renting out his home and staying in a travel trailer on our property when he's in town since our granddaughter has a room at our house. That said, we do think at some point we will sell the house, unless one of our kids wants to live in it, in about 10 years. At that point, we will be ready for a small condo or house with a small yard. The real estate market here is absolutely insane (Nashville) though so we would have to move to a rural area in Kentucky to find something affordable. It's been an insane amount of work to finish off this addition, but all in all, for us, we like the bigger home, even if we got a lot of comments about NOT downsizing from our friends. My sister went from renting a 2 bed, 700 sq ft apartment to buying a 2700 sq ft home recently with her daughter and her family because they could afford it easier than just paying rent. It has 4 beds, 3 baths and a MIL suite. They are thrilled. My sister has since lost 30 pounds she says because she has to walk so far in her new house! So for my family, upsizing was a better choice, but I agree with everyone else. It's really an individual choice. "

My niece, aged 28, has an associates degree and before the pandemic she was happy to find a job making $10 an hour. Now, after the pandemic, she is MUCH happier making $24 an hour. She went through several jobs until she found this job as an IT apprentice. She is so upbeat about her future. Before the pandemic shut down, she was working at a warehouse filling online orders. (BTW, she tried being an Amazon delivery driver. She has PTSD from that job. She was used and abused basically.) The labor shortage has given her a chance at a job she never would have been able to get in the past. I was at Dunkin Donuts the other day standing in line for coffee. ONE PERSON was working drive thru and walk up counter; probably all of 16 years of old. She was trying her best to go quickly but everyone was ordering specialty drinks. These two big men in front of me starting loudly complaining at her: Hurry up! What is taking so long? We've been waiting here! These guys had to be in their 40s and yelling at a teenager! I got so mad. Normally, I just ignore this behavior, but there was obviously NO ONE else in the store working, or management was in the back hiding or something. This girl was really crying and apologizing: I'm sorry, Sir. I'm doing the best I can. Finally, I told those two guys to shut the hell up. Can't they see she's just a kid and working her butt off? They whipped around at me like they wanted to hit me! But I guess they must of seen their Mammas in me because they said: Yes, ma'am. You're right. We're just in a hurry. And I got a free cup of coffee after they left. She was such a sweet kid. But I bet she quit. People are such jerks sometimes.