I’m pretty sure it was a really old facebook post the more that I think about it. Probably deleted. I have a copy of Rethinking School. Thank you for reminding me. That was a very helpful book. I’ll go hunt it down. 🙂

I have wondered about this. My sister in law’s husband died from a hospital acquired COVID infection. It was devastating. He was admitted after an outpatient surgery. He had some issues with anesthesia. He wasn’t in the greatest health and refused vaccination, but he was only in his 60s. It was absolutely heartbreaking. I read stories occasionally about people being upset over hospitals starting to require masks again, and it makes me furious.

Does he type/keyboard well? My dd is really good at typing. And in college it’s really much more typing than handwriting. I mean…I know that hand written notes are best for learning and retaining info, but there are work arounds. Just thinking about the long game. 🙂 I really do understand your concern. He is very fortunate that you have struggled similarly. You can empathize. I was a mess about it at first because I have that perfect school teacher handwriting. 🫠

Once upon a time there was an article about the “myth” of accreditation, and now I can’t find it. Does anyone remember this? I used to reference it occasionally for friends who had concerns about homeschooling through high school. I could always search her fb page and find it, but not today. Has she changed her mind due to Well Trained Mind Academy having an accreditation? Anyone else remember the article?

Is occupational therapy an option? It ((might help)). My dd had very, very babyish handwriting for a long time. Overly large print, spacing between letters and words was like a preschooler. No…it was possibly worse than a 4 year old. It was so bad. In OT they taught her cursive, but it didn’t stick. Maybe it did help in a way. She was 12 in OT. I will say that there was a change around 14 years of age maybe?? And she improved. Now she writes smaller than average print. I wish I knew how this happened. I would’ve never predicted it. It was a total flip flop. It’s not pretty, but it’s legible, and much more efficient. I’m wondering if using narrow (college) ruled paper might help. As opposed to the wider ruled paper used in the earlier grades. I’m sort of thinking that might have been what helped dd make the shift to much smaller print.

I had not! That is so interesting!

I am pretty lazy about skincare, but I try. The sicca syndrome of my AI disease sort of forces me to. I have been using a skincare line that I feel like has made a significant difference in how my skin "behaves", and I'm much less dependent on oils or other occlusive moisturizers. So I went to the website today, and it looks like they have discontinued their body serum and lotion! I am going to cry if that is true. Maybe it's a website glitch. 😞 They still have the face products available. It's Renue By Science. The stuff has NAD+, resveratrol, apocynin, methylene blue, Glutathione, NMN and NR... Before I started using their stuff, I had to use Vanicream ointment nearly every day on my legs or they were uncomfortably dry and super flaky. I was so skeptical of the Renue products when I first received them because they feel so light compared to the Vanicream products. So at first I used the Renue stuff and put the Vanicream on top of it. Then one day I figured out I didn't need the Vanicream any more. And I could go a few days without even putting the stuff on! No flaking, no itching. I am seriously going to ugly cry if they stopped making the body serum/lotions. I just emailed the company about it.

Thank you for sharing! I have been wanting to try something new. I'm out of everything except my moisturizers, so this is perfect timing. eta: is the Think Sport tinted?

I’m praying!

My thought is…of course you’re sad. This is ((really hard)). But not insurmountable. Just know that I (and I’m sure everyone here…we) are sad with you. I am so glad that you can come here and allow us to sort of shoulder the emotional burden with you.

I love this! 💕💕💕

It really is weird. I am watching the insanely cold temps in Alaska (looks like they have finally "warmed up a bit") because this weather pattern is going to flip in the next couple of weeks. So yeah...I understand your concern! Down here it's peaches. Last March we had a really hard freeze that did a lot of damage to our peach farmers' crops.

Back in the fall I found what I thought was a volunteer Komatsuna mustard plant in the beds where my tomatoes had been. They reseed easily. I transplanted it to the bed with my lettuces. I have harvested a few leaves of off it a couple of times to add to dishes. I noticed it seemed to be a bit slimy when I would break off a leaf. Today I checked on it. It's broccoli plant. It has a tiny little broccoli floret and a thicker stalk. 🙂 I have never ever successfully grown broccoli. I have no idea how a broccoli seed even got in that bed. I don't remember ever trying to direct seed. I only remember trying to start them indoors. Side note: broccoli leaves taste wonderful sauteed. 🙂 My swiss chard has done nothing. I planted it in Oct, and it still looks like puny little seedlings. My lettuce is looking okay, but it hasn't grown as fast as it should. I finally broke down and added fertilizer--not the organic kind. We were just so dry for so long that I was afraid I'd burn the plants. We have received a lot of rain since the new year fortunately. I need to sow carrots this week. I got impatient and started a bunch of seeds in my Aerogarden and my biodome. Some dwarf tomatoes, poblano, anaheim chili, bell pepper, other tomatoes, celery... And some more lettuce for succession planting. I'm experimenting with getting ahead with the tomatoes. I'm hoping to get them setting fruit by early June because it gets too hot by mid July for them to do anything here. I plan to start a second round of tomatoes (around April maybe?) to plant in July when the first round plants are playing out. Then hopefully those would be ready to bloom and set fruit once the temps cool off a little in September. Wondering if I should throw some more broccoli seeds out...

I like this idea! Since I can’t change mine rn, I may try this and see how it goes. My cookbooks don’t have a good home right now. Not easily accessible.

We are struggling similarly. My dd is a senior though, so it's too late for her (for high school). The pandemic really ruined any chances of a normal high school experience (homeschooled). I feel so guilty that our family had to take COVID seriously while all of her peers were getting back to life as usual by the end of 2020. Currently, my older dd's are making suggestions like creating a "group me" for her co-op classes, and then emailing and/or irl inviting fellow classmates to join--just as a way to communicate less awkwardly. She wants to go to her senior prom, but has zero friends currently. Older dds are telling her that she is not the only one in her classes that feels the way she does. But everyone is afraid to do something. That is why they are telling her to start a group me. It seems like everyone already has a friend group. And they definitely can't be bothered to include anyone else. I volunteered to be one of the senior coordinators for our co-op. I co-hosted a football game party at my house in the fall. We had a decent amount of kids show up. Everyone seemed to have a good time, but... no lasting connections were made. That SUCKS. My older 3 were really involved in church and/or their cover school. They had friends and plenty of opportunities to socialize. It has just been so different for my youngest. Most of the time she is okay, but she does feel like she is missing out sometimes. I have tried to get her involved in extracurriculars, but she shoots down all my ideas. You must feel so conficted about this. There is no easy button. And no guarantee that being in school will make your child less lonely. It really depends on their personality, I think.

I have a similar situation. It's low on the priority list, but I would like to rebuild something for storage. No desk. I am weird in that I have a lot of formal china, crystal, and antique glassware. I have a small antique china cabinet in my formal dining room which is maxxed out! I could use another space to store some of the pretty stuff. Instead of a desk I would like a base cabinet with deep drawers and then...not sure what to call it...a hutch? Something on top of the base cabinet with glass doors for displaying pretty dishes. There would be no desk or countertop to collect junk like it does now. Basically a large built in china cabinet. But my space is not as large as yours.

I was going to suggest looking for a "mom network", too. My girls' university has one for students whose parents are out of state/country. The group is called "Townie Moms". They are amazing by all accounts. It is only on Facebook as far as I can tell. Honestly, might be very worthwhile reason to get a FB account if such a group exists where your son is. I know it's stressful. I feel for you. Not as scary as Melissa's story, but one of my oldest dd's recently broke her wrist. She slipped on the ice walking her dog. She waited days to see a doctor. The xray showed a fracture. They said they would send her xray to a radiologist or ortho dr for follow up but didn't expect that she'd need surgery or anything. So she just never followed up! She's got a splint--that's it. (She is also autistic.) I wish they just wouldn't tell me. And really don't send me the gruesome pics if you aren't going to follow up with the ortho doc! I hope you'll get a good update soon.

@Katy I used to have some of those Hanes socks. I liked them, too. Now I'm wearing these Under Amour socks from Sam's Club. I think these are the best athletic socks I've ever had. They stay put! They don't have the extra cushioning that those Hanes did, but I don't miss it. I actually like it better because they feel less bulky. I get my support from the shoe itself. https://www.samsclub.com/p/under-armour-womens-6pk-essential-cotton-no-show-sock/prod26580190?xid=plp_product_15

One thing to consider re the comparison with SSRIs. SSRIs only work if taken daily. And it often takes weeks to know if they will work for their intended purpose. Trazodone does not have to be taken daily to be effective for sleep, so it can be taken "as needed". That ((may)) lessen the the theoretical risk of post SSRI sexual dysfunction. For me it is a no brainer. The real/known health risks associated with poor sleep or lack of sleep outweigh the risks of the Trazodone--for me. (Also, Lack of quality sleep in and of itself is associated with sexual dysfunction.)

Praying.

Interesting. I’m in Alabama, and generally speaking our humidity and dew points drop dramatically with a cold snap. I guess being a few hours from the coast makes a big difference.

I guess I’m wrong! When I run a humidifier or vaporizer in my 65 degree house, I feel warmer. But I suppose that is a lot different from 20 degrees outside. eta: so what is the temperature where the shift happens? Freezing?

Gotta disagree w one point. Humidity always makes it feel warmer. I’m speculating that our relative comfort while spending time being way up north is from the psychology of it—being prepared and dressing more appropriately for those temps. Meanwhile, here in Alabama, I have been known to run errands in sub freezing temps in flip flops because I can’t be bothered with putting on real shoes. 😉 And yes, I put on coat and hat. With flip flops. I confess. I’m not proud of this. And as one of my former family practice docs said at a visit during winter pointing out my lack of socks… (he was a gruff but kind Russian doc—imagine a thick accent), “Thanks for the repeat business.” 😂😂😂

Okay…this is so interesting to me. It’s off topic—sorry! I live in Alabama and I can buy beer AND wine at any grocery store any day of the week. In the Bible Belt of all things. Any decent grocery store—heck even drug stores like Walgreens and CVS have a decent wine selection. One of my oldest DDs lives in Maryland now. It seems ridiculous to me that you have to go out of your way to buy a bottle of wine. They live in a DC burb. I wouldn’t have expected that at all. The Giant employee I asked said only their “flagship” stores sell wine. Like, whut?? lol I couldn’t figure out if it was a legality or a retail structure thing. I had to go to a liquor store to buy wine! Who would have thought it would be easier to buy a bottle of wine in the Deep South—Gasp! 😉 😂

I recently a started taking Trazodone myself. The only negative side effect I have experienced is having a harder time waking up in the morning. Once I’m up, I’m good. I can deal because I feel so much better overall getting good sleep. I will say…one of my DDs has figured out that it (Trazodone) causes her to have restless leg syndrome when she takes it. So that’s something to keep in mind. I am wondering if that could be mitigated by taking a magnesium supplement. There is zero chance she gets enough in her everyday diet—same as most young people in her position. Just something to watch for. It has really helped me. I also took it when I was much younger. At that time a lower dose was very effective—I think I was splitting a 50mg tablet in half and that was plenty. At my current age…53. 50mg hasn’t been quite enough. I just upped my dose to 100mg. My psychiatrist said 50mg is a “low dose”. Of course everyone’s mileage will vary on meds like this. It’s a drug that’s been around for a very long time and has an excellent safety profile.