Are you by chance the eldest (or eldest female) child? My own observations suggest that getting taken for granted happens frequently to eldest daughters. (Also to mothers but that is a different discussion). In any case I am sorry your family members are not reaching out more, especially since they know you are feeling left out and would welcome more contact.

According to this chart 132 WPM is an average oral reading pace for fall of 6th grade. http://www.readingrockets.org/article/fluency-norms-chart-2017-update At 290 words per page (approximate based on the page and word counts you gave) that would be about 2.2 minutes per page. Many people read faster silently than orally, but those of us who actually say every word we read in our heads (I do) read at about the same pace silently as we do out loud.

Have you talked with her about feeling left out? How do you think she would respond if you did? I can't tell from the little you have written if there are deeper issues such as long term strained relationships, narcissism, etc., or if there is maybe just a mismatch of expectations. My family are all scattered far and wide, most rarely initiate contact with me specifically (we do have fairly regular interactions through a family facebook group). It's certainly nothing personal, just individual personalities and family culture. One sister calls me regularly and I know she also makes extensive efforts to reach out to other family members. Her priorities at play. If frequent calls with my mom were a personal priority I would expect to take responsibility for initiating them not project my priorities and expectations onto her. I don't know enough about your family to know if different priorities and expectations are the source of your disappointment or if there is something more toxic going on. I am sorry you are hurting.

Does she call and text with your siblings? My mom is happy to talk if I call but she doesn't generally initiate calls. She's just not a phone calling person.

My kids have read or listened to the first four Harry Potter books. My oldest has read all of them. I find the later books a bit dark for young kids so have encouraged waiting to read them. Narnia was my first love as a young reader. It was replaced by Middle Earth when I was about 12. Middle Earth will forever be my fantasy home. Not the movies though.

Thanks for sharing!

I've seen buskers put a sign on their instrument case with Venmo account information for folks who don't carry cash.

Where? When a black actress was cast as Hermione in the cursed child play Rowling supported the casting and I think she has said Hermione could be read as black; that doesn't mean she was written as black.

Praying Jean.

I have found this research report on pencil grips very interesting. (PDF download) https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/4108/TMP.objres.23.pdf%3Fsequence&ved=2ahUKEwiEvvv4_b_dAhUPGnwKHWuoA58QFjAPegQIABAB&usg=AOvVaw0IuncfQfnxg1UA1btqPbRt&cshid=1537116832830 The lateral tripod grip falls in the category they name "power grip with ease" --grips in this category were found to be quite efficient. There really isn't one grip that is best for everyone.

Hermione's not black in the books. She's got frizzy hair, maybe someone decided that meant black, but really there's nothing else in her description to suggest it. Neither is Sirius.

We have had some great nurse practitioners.

I remember reading a book by a midwife over a decade ago; she had a few stories of children talking about pre-birth spirits. One was her son, who told her very matter of factly how each woman had spirits circling around her who were her potential children. If they did not end up being born to that mother they would go to someone else. The family was not, as far as I recall, religious. A friend of mine who experienced a miscarriage had a very strong impression with a later pregnancy that this was the same spirit being given another opportunity to join her family. I have had a distinct impression with every one of my children that there was a spirit who was waiting to come. It never comes until shortly before I get pregnant, even with my first when we had been trying for a year with no success. Once that impression came I was pregnant within a month. This is why I am uncertain that I am done having children; I like the idea of no more pregnancies and of moving on from the baby phase of life--but if the time comes that another child communicates they are ready to join my family I am not going to say no.

We lived with Heavenly Father before this life as His spirit children, and we came to earth to gain a body and to learn and grow and eventually return to Him. Long before the Creation of this earth, our Heavenly Father provided a plan that made it possible for us, His children, to become like Him. This plan is called the plan of salvation. Understanding this plan gives us greater purpose in life. Before this mortal life we lived with God as His spirit children, without physical bodies. We chose the Father’s plan, which included the Creation of this earth and provided us the opportunity to come here to gain a body, make choices, develop faith, and accept responsibility for our actions. This allows us to progress beyond what was possible in the spirit world when we lived with God. https://www.mormon.org/beliefs/plan-of-salvation The above is a basic explanation of Mormon beliefs about the our pre-earth life. Sorry for weird formatting, I'm on my phone and have limited editing abilities. I just cut and pasted.

Yes, men extend their hands for a shake here. I think this varies regionally though.

Ain't that the truth!

I read your update. I'm sorry this is the kind of relatives you have. I'm curious to know your husband's response when he finds out since it is his sister.

The only items that I leave on my counter intentionally are a water distiller and water dispenser. Everything else is supposed to be put away after use. Doesn't mean that actually happens. My microwave lives on a separate microwave cart in the dining area because I wanted it off my counter. Toaster, blenders, instant pot--appliances that I use regularly--have cupboard homes. I don't have a stand mixer, food processor, coffee pot, etc. Oh, the counter next to my sink hosts a small countertop dishwasher as adjunct to the regular under counter dishwasher because my family produces a gazillion dirty dishes and I only want to worry about washing dishes once a day.

Based on what you've posted after school care sounds like a decent option. May be a RAD thing, may be just the kid you have. I wasn't adopted and definitely didn't have RAD, but I was not a compliant kid and consequences never did impact my behavior. 11 can be a tough hormonal age.

I loved driving in Texas! Signal that you want to switch lanes and they slow down to make space for you. We moved from there to Los Angeles--what a shock! Signal that you want to change lanes and everybody hurries to close any potential gap. I learned to drive more aggressively and not signal till I was already moving in but I never did like driving there.

What brand is yours? Will you sell it to me? I also break can openers regularly. Cheap ones. Not cheap ones. Various styles and brands. They never last. We don't even use a ton of cans.

I've never owned one. My parents never owned one. I've rarely even seen them.

These seem to be decent folks. Any chance they have some kind of position they could hire you for?

My youngest had a VSD that closed on its own by about 4 months.

You don't need a working hinge for a temporary fix--you might have more luck glueing or taping with some kind of splint; The ear piece won't fold in but will work to wear. Or if you have an old pair of glasses or sunglasses around that you could borrow an earpiece from that might work as well depending on where exactly your hinge broke.