Almost a quarter of people who qualify for benefits don’t apply. The reason many who do can’t take raises or increased hours is because benefits don’t decrease in proportion to income. Another $100 can cost multiple hundreds in benefits and heaven knows how much in medical coverage.

Caregiving positions, which already suck, won’t get filled. So good luck to any of us who will need any form of care in 20+ years! (ETA: I don’t think that’s a proper reason for anyone to change their mind about kids, lol.)

I was helped by a man when I got a flat tire on a dark section of highway in my sports car with 2 kids in the back, and I was pregnant. Pre-everyone-has-a-cell-phone. I will forever be grateful for the guy who very quickly slapped on my spare tire and disappeared back into his vehicle while I was panicked for the safety of my kids (getting hit on the side of a highway is way too common, even for emergency services with flashing lights) AND for this stranger-man I knew nothing about. Especially without a cell phone. I still prefer to be approached by a woman than a man, and I try to approach women who may appear to need help first.

I’m not familiar with Texas accents, but I suspect, for non-Texan listeners, it’s a lot like a NY accent. NY has many different accents. A listener might not be able to distinguish between Brooklyn and Staten Island, but they could peg NY in general. (Disclaimer: I don’t know if a Brooklyn accent is still a thing with the population shift. I’m often stuck in the 90s.). Of course that doesn’t account for every. single. person. in an area.

How my brain works while driving with no radio Dh and I were born and raised in NJ from many generations of born and raised NJeans (specifically north.) We have that NNJ accent, and I carry it especially hard when I’m in any sort of dramatic mood. Which is a lot. Our 4 youngest kids have been homeschooled their whole lives just 40 minutes inside the PA border and have absolutely no hint of NJ accent. I’ve teased them over a lot of pronunciations over the years, but yesterday I realized #4 was actually incapable of suspending the r-controlled vowel rule, which I have absolutely never adhered to. Anyway, it seemed to me to demonstrate the fact that homeschooling doesn’t (have to) limit outside influences. We still managed to create people who talk like they’ve never had a true bagel. 🤣

It seems to, but I’m sure the public aspect of coworkers and regulators plays a part in that, compared to a random encounter.

I can see that, but also… I’m not sure. My dds are pretty tough, almost aggressive. The one who works in a coffee chain is still harassed by creepy men at work. Does creepy = dangerous? Not definitively. But it does trigger spidey senses. Her new go-to is to look them dead in the eyes and say, “I’m 16.” Fortunately, she can convincingly pull off passing as a minor to strangers. Yet she was assaulted by a male “friend”. Trust can’t just be thrown about Willy nilly.

Saw the spine specialists today! They’re convinced it’s all muscular, but could take up to 6 weeks to fully recover. 😞 More meds and a chiro referral. No more excruciating pain, just nearly constant soreness and annoyance! Dh is on vacation next week and we’re both going to be miserable as I instruct him on getting my plants into the ground! 😳

Honestly, it was more of a rhetorical question 😆. Yeah, we’re in black bear country, too. Our backyard borders completely wild forest. I do not enjoy being surprised by them, but of course we don’t mess with them. The specific TikTok mentioned is in response to the general question going around the internet to women - would you rather run into a bear or a man in the woods - and some men’s outrage to the response, which has been bear. Bears almost never attack unprovoked. Women (as a whole) are frequently attacked by men (as a whole) in comparison.

What percent of bears are driven to hurt humans unprovoked?

My oldest was out for most of his baseball season, but at 100% within months. There were crutches, then a shoe insert, and stretches he was supposed to do. (This was well over a decade ago, so it’s hard to remember exact details.)

As a 47yo with adhd, anxiety, and what my family lovingly dubs “diet autism” (All of my nieces and nephew and some of my kids are on the spectrum) I’m getting adhd/anx vibes from you. My sleep issues come and go in many different forms. They often, though not always, include some wild dreams. While I didn’t like the side effects of stimulant adhd meds, I’ve been considering exploring a non-stimulant. But the biggest change to my life has come from an SNRI. I don’t know if you’re open to that, but I can’t refrain from sharing how glorious Effexor has been for me! When I think about how hard it was to cope with these things I didn’t understand as a teenager (nor did anyone around me) and for decades more, I get sad. Today Me has so many resources that could have helped Then Me.

Agreeing with Eos. Especially for clarifying misconceptions like the southern focus or later generations’ (or branches’) economic status. My paternal line is the one with the clearest records, including towns and roads with my maiden name. We’re definitely northerners and there definitely hasn’t been major wealth in our branch for many generations. But the records (primarily wills) are there. There’s also a census record of a black family with the surname in the area our family inhabited for hundreds of years. For *ME*, that discovery added… not sure how to put this into words that properly convey my meaning… a more concrete perspective from which to grow from non-racist to anti-racism. If that makes any sense. It was already there, but like I had an almost tangibly increased motivation/duty to do right in the world.

Northerner here, back to the 1600s, and my ancestors did own people.

@Scarlett I *think* there are lyric videos on YouTube. At least some.

I’ve only been in Wegmans once or twice (distance), but dd likes to get lunch there if she’s passing through on a shift. The food bar is definitely a huge draw.

I love it, but also I feel like this was the most personal of already personal albums and I feel like I accidentally learned too much! It was awesome that the Fortnight video featured “Dead Poets”. I enjoy, to an extent, looking for all the references, especially if I find one that none of the kiddos on TikTok pick up on. I’m currently trying to decide whether “Who’s afraid of little old me” is a nod to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf or Virginia Wolf, herself. Or both? Florence was amazing. Post Malone was great. Stevie Nick’s words and support blow me away. Imagine being appreciated by Stevie Nicks?!?!?

My 20 and 21yos don’t speak to one another. My 21 and 13yos speak to each other constantly. My about-to-be 17yo and 13yo are the tightest two of my 5 kids. I know 4.5 years isn’t 6, but still. I don’t really speak to one of my sisters (3 years younger) but have a very strong relationship with the other (7 years younger.) I think it’s important to remember we’re creating individual, complete, unique human beings and it’s a very big, lifelong responsibility. There are plenty of other ways to entertain a child for a few years. That said, I’ve loved being a mom of 5!

I have not crafted in I don’t know how long! But our organization is having a craft fair and we’re a little skimpy on vendors. Plus I hurt my back, so gardening and spring cleaning are on hold. SO, I hauled out my supplies (well, the kids lifted) and started churning out mini wax melts. The concept is basic scents in tiny hearts so anyone can create blends at home without becoming their own messy factory. Or just use them straight because they’re cute. I’ll add a picture when I get back to work later. Of course now my house smells like bizarre combinations of things, which is why my motivation to do this fizzled out when I was originally collecting materials!

It’s scary, but there’s always a first time for everything in everyone, and we aren’t always aware a risk is present. In the given context, my grandmother’s first elopement attempt was when she got her hip replacement. That prevented her from any real chance of success, but no one would have thought she’d be at any risk of trying at that early point in her cognitive decline. But so much was going on at once (strange place being a big one) that it caused surprising reactions. The handling is questionable, but it isn’t uncommon to reserve “high alert” status until something happens to warrant it. Not just officially, but as a mental load. Like, I didn’t worry about my toddler taking off out of a rarely used, always locked door until she did. She had never even messed with it before!

So, another package was shipped USPS. My tracking just showed that they “attempted delivery” but “no secure location” to put it. 😡😡😡 Not only does EVERY delivery company leave my millions of packages at my garage door (rain or shine), but I have been home ALL day. I hate my USPS.

When I eventually went out to grab the packages, the surrounding area reeked of skunk. In addition to most households being armed and maybe not realizing someone has legit reason to be there before dawn, I imagine the wildlife must be a real concern for drivers here!

Lucky! The chi-mutt gets crated, but still barks at any disturbance outside. Side note - the GSD was sleeping on the couch as I wound down for the evening last night. When dh got home from firehouse drill, Sam had a very delayed (for him) reaction to someone entering the house and was clearly deeply embarrassed for a good 10 minutes. That poor boy’s eyes and ears showed how much he believed he let us down! (He typically starts as vehicles round the corner at the far end of our property!)

Confession: when I moved states, I put off transferring my drivers license too long and had to redo the road test. So embarrassing. 🙈 Life was chaotic and overwhelming at the time. But I also have testing/performance anxiety, so that was worse than the overwhelm! My current license expires at the end of the month and I forgot about the mail notification I received ages ago until I went test driving cars and really looked at it. Praise the universe, I was able to renew online!

This o’dark-thirty stuff from Amazon is creepy. I ordered a whole bunch of stuff for a fundraising activity and didn’t go over each individual delivery schedule at check out. Turns out, one was scheduled for the early overnight that starts at 4am. On the bright side, it was 5 when the dogs and cameras went off, not 4. I don’t like it when convenience is inconvenient! 🥱