Well, the way I feel right now (long night of work, very little sleep today) I would refuse to move and give him some not so friendly advice about his choice of vehicles. Or maybe I would have offered to show him how to un-park a car. So,that's the choice I selected. I seriously know myself enough to know that I would not be able to keep my mouth shut in a situation such as you have described, but I hope (HOPE!) I would not use curse words, refer to his obviously poor genetic lineage, or comment on his propensity to compensate for certain deficiencies with an excessively large vehicle.

I'm not sure what you're saying here. Are you saying that your opinion is that teenage girls do not experience physical sexual pleasure (the big O)?

Okay, I understand... I also owe you an apology because I was a little quick to take umbrage. Sometimes I get frustrated because I experience many people who define the world by their limited experience. And yes, I realize the irony of me assuming you did that, based on my limited experience! :tongue_smilie:

I'm sorry that you don't consider any of the number of people you know who obviously have at least young marriage age in common with you as friends. Unless you feel no loss at that fact, then to each his/her own.

Sorry. I stupidly assumed we were speaking of American culture. I guess we'll have to check the census records. And BTW, I am not in "middle class, suburban America." United States, but not suburban, and the definition of middle class is changing.

The first thing I thought when I read your post was, "What century do you live in?" :001_smile: But seriously, you realize that your experience and circle of friends is not the norm today, right?

Rosie - I get what you're saying and it made a lot of sense to me. If I waited until I felt confirmed as a person, or really knew who I was and what I wanted to do with my life, I wouldn't have had sex until I was .... well until I was in my mid-30's. I think you've hit on something with biology and society being out of synch.

Marinol is a prescription drug used to treat nausea and vomiting in chemo patients and loss of appetite in certain groups of patients (including elderly). The active ingredient is synthetic THC.

is she regular with bowel movements? As Joanne said, part of the aging process is the slowing down of bodily functions. This is why many older people are practically obsessed with their bowels. If they don't move (the bowels) the elderly person will end up feeling full. Infrequent bowel movements can also result in impaction and other issues. So, if you have the kind of relationship that allows you to talk with her about her bowel movements, I'd ask if she was regular. If not perhaps she needs something mild every day so she can have a BM every day. Hernia may also be an option. Instead of going to the ER, it would be better to make an appointment with her regular doctor, if she has one. If she doesn't have one, it is a good time to get one. An office visit will allow her to voice all her complaints and look for the small things, where an ER visit is focused on emergent, life threatening things and major things.

I got some of those at my Target, too! If you have a child who loves workbooks, Target is a good place to keep your eye on. They often have workbooks in their $1 section.

Sorry it took me so long to reply to you. I kind of see your point, but the vast majority of people are going to eventually have sexual intercourse, whether they have it before marriage or after. Information on sexuality and birth control is both appropriate and necessary for teenagers - even if the first time they have intercourse is on their wedding night. I agree, though, that it may be embarrassing for teens to be instructed on this in a classroom setting. My advice to parents who themselves are too uncomfortable or embarrassed to instruct their teenagers on b/c would be to find a nurse practitioner or physician who would be willing to provide one-on-one instruction. I also do not agree that b/c instruction of any sort puts a teen's mind someplace it shouldn't be. Hey, we've all been teens and should all be able to admit that our minds were already there! It is the rare teenager who doesn't think about sex. I stand by my opinion that instruction about birth control is not gross. maybe we'll just have to agree to disagree on what we consider gross. :001_smile:

thank you. the photo in my avatar and others by Dorthea Lange almost make me cry if I look at them too long.

It is only "gross" if you make it gross. Instructions regarding condom usage are no more "gross" than instructions regarding tampons & pads, breast self-exam, etc.

great minds think alike, eh?

This article from the New Yorker details a study wherein the researcher discovered that while religion is a good indicator of sexual views, it is a poor indicator of sexual practices. Also found that evangelical teens are more likely to state their intention not to have premarital sex, yet are, in fact, more likely to engage in premarital sex. The author also discovered that evangelical teens were the least likely to use birth control. It is a very long article and encompasses a great deal of information, if you have the time to read it. Here are excerpts regarding what I referenced above: "The vast majority of white evangelical adolescents—seventy-four per cent—say that they believe in abstaining from sex before marriage. (Only half of mainline Protestants, and a quarter of Jews, say that they believe in abstinence.) Moreover, among the major religious groups, evangelical virgins are the least likely to anticipate that sex will be pleasurable, and the most likely to believe that having sex will cause their partners to lose respect for them. (Jews most often cite pleasure as a reason to have sex, and say that an unplanned pregnancy would be an embarrassment.) But, according to Add Health data, evangelical teen-agers are more sexually active than Mormons, mainline Protestants, and Jews." and "Another key difference in behavior, Regnerus reports, is that evangelical Protestant teen-agers are significantly less likely than other groups to use contraception. This could be because evangelicals are also among the most likely to believe that using contraception will send the message that they are looking for sex. It could also be because many evangelicals are steeped in the abstinence movement’s warnings that condoms won’t actually protect them from pregnancy or venereal disease." Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/11/03/081103fa_fact_talbot#ixzz0tfj1TVK0

Wow, that's a long way away for me. I'm pretty sure the only thing I would be against is a young marriage.

mmmm yes... Yellowtail sashimi Or a salmon steak grilled rare with mango salsa and wild rice. Dh makes this from time to time. I'll have to ask him to make it soon.

What does his nationality have to do with anything, is the question I would ask. If I'm describing how a person *looks* I may add the nationality, or if I'm describing why I had a hard time understanding a coworker's accent (Nigerian), but not just, "I have a new employee, he's (Irish, Arab, Southern, Redheaded, tattooed, etc.)."

When you get through this you will be in a perfect place to encourage families to talk openly with their teens and pre-teens about sexual intercourse and the consequences, and to discuss birth control, because sometimes self-control is not enough. I hope you realize very soon that YOUR life is not OVER. You just have a new family dynamic and a new perspective on good parenting.

Wasn't the goal of the original game to get married, have kids, and avoid the poorhouse?

Are you in the Midwest? I was shocked to discover what was considered "acceptable" when I moved here. Ten years later, I still reel. I still encounter that word (and not exclusively from elderly). I put on my innocent face and say, "colored? what do you mean? what color?" The speaker usually gets right away that they've used an unacceptable term (most of them know it is not generally acceptable, but think it will be okay since - ya know - everyone around them is white). Or, they figure I'm too stupid to continue talking to, which suites me fine. When I first moved here I had to come home and ask my husband to explain some of the terms I overheard, because even though I'm sure there were racist people in my pre-Midwest life, I had never encountered some of the terms.

Nah, you should. You have the talent. I can't make up songs without adding swear words :001_huh:

That's pretty much the same way it works for Nook, too. Once 2 or more bookmarks have been added to any one book, when reading the book, simply choose "go to" then "bookmark" and it will provide a list of bookmarked pages to skip to by choosing.