Reducing the spread eight-fold is significant, though. That will help prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed, and protect a whole lot of people. if certain regions just insist on acquiring their immunity the old-fashioned way, through infection, on their heads be it, but they'll still end up with some degree of immunity. It'll take a while, but we will get through the pandemic stage.

I'm so sorry; I know how hard that is. Sending lots of hugs.

I'm so sorry. Fwiw, I think the empty house is the best plan, provided it has power, water, and some furniture. I hope he continues to be protected from most symptoms by the vaccine, and recovers quickly.

Thinking of him and you. I hope he's quickly admitted and they can help him.

No advice, just ugh. That's so terribly sad. As to whether it could really be that bad... I know nothing about the progression of colon cancer, but people do sometimes astound me with their awfulness. I'm so sorry she's in that situation, both the cancer and the parental control, if that's what it turns out to be.

That is a lot of mail, wow. Is it possible that the mail carrier could come to his door, perhaps once a week? Maybe there are accommodations for disabilities? Like this: https://faq.usps.com/s/article/If-I-have-Hardship-or-Medical-Problems-how-do-I-request-Door-Delivery#:~:text="Hardship" or "Medical Problems,a statement from a Doctor. Editing to add that you might need to get him a separate address, like "221B Baker Street."

So glad you can bring him to a less overwhelmed hospital. I'll be thinking of all of you and hoping he improves soon.

Reading this thread, I get the feeling that the differences in lifestyle may be greater now than when I was a teen, and those more extreme variations might make things harder. The differences I noticed were people living in a more expensive neighborhood (but not everyone did), belonging to the country club (again, not everyone), and making their debut in senior year (maybe 1/4 of the class). Only one or two (out of 80+) typically spent summers out of the country, and of those, one was an international student going home. Many (most?) had summer jobs. Things sound like they might be different now.

I'm so sorry. That would be such a shock. I guess it's too early to have any idea what caused it?

If the kid in question enjoys it and can have it, hot and sour soup is great for this. Chicken soup, essentially, plus clearing the sinuses! I hope she feels much better soon.

I'm so glad! Continuing to hope for the best for your home, as well as your family.

Ditto.

I attended a school like that, and my dd briefly did also. Our experiences were utterly different. The key points were the size and quality of the school, and the attitude towards all the "extras." Mine was fantastic. It was a warm, nurturing place with great teachers, challenging classes, and extracurricular activities that went far beyond standard offerings. I never felt out of place; though it was an old-money sort of environment, there were also people there on scholarships, and also other people whose parents had put them there as a refuge from the city's public schools, which were pretty bad at the time. The teachers and administration made it clear that I belonged there from the first moment I walked in. Expensive optional extras were not pushed, so while I would have loved to go on one of the overseas trips, no one made me feel bad because I couldn't. Most students didn't do those things. That was important. I hoped dd would have the same experience at her school, but no such luck. Academically, it was mediocre, while also constantly patting itself on the back and denigrating the local public schools. It was too small to offer the variety of classes and extracurricular activities that my school or our local public schools did offer. It required super-expensive uniforms, but then also had very frequent "spirit day" activities when random other clothes were...not required, but highly encouraged... so we were forever having to go buy a shirt in some particular color. The teachers hounded dd to go on a very expensive overseas trip, and at this school, apparently pretty much everyone *did* do things like that.There was generally no recognition that they were pressuring people to spend a ton of extra money. It did offer a safe environment and fairly good teachers, but it wasn't good enough for us to justify continuing the expense.

Okay, this is particularly interesting, thanks!

Interesting, thank you!

This is going to be hard. The outside time isn't a problem except in extreme weather, but both girls have a lot of screen time which isn't entirely discretionary: online school for both last year, and for one this coming year. I can let them know that this would be beneficial, though. One at least would be happy to hear that more outside time was recommended. Older dd's myopia is already worse than mine, which is far worse than dh's, so I understand the suggestion to slow the progression. I'm just sceptical about how effective it will be. I appreciate your thoughts.

We just saw a new optometrist who is suggesting this. The idea is completely new to me. My initial reaction is that the three options which were presented (soft contacts with reduced peripheral vision, hard contacts worn overnight, and dilute atropine drops at night) don't sound great for older teens who are up late (early am) studying routinely and are relatively new drivers. I want them to have all the peripheral vision possible, lol. Also, I gather they are older than most kids who start this treatment. Both are pretty myopic already and their vision is changing enough to require new glasses yearly. Seriously, if glasses weren't so expensive and if she had been driving more over this last year, one should probably have gotten a new prescription after six months. She won't need to drive much for the next few years, though. I found this information online, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4542412/ which suggests that it's not clear whether the benefits will continue long term once any treatment stops. Does anyone have experience with this?

I think the regional variations are significant. Here, over 70% of adults are vaccinated. We aren't seeing much delta yet (though it's been a few days since I looked at the numbers). I do expect delta to increase, but hope the vaccination numbers will prevent hospital overwhelm. Places where most people aren't vaccinated will likely be more heavily affected. My impression is that the vast majority of vaccinated people don't get very sick, but a few do. I don't think we have really good information yet, since this is so new. I've barely stopped masking, did enjoy a few indoor restaurant dinners lately, but will probably mask more again and be more cautious as delta moves in. I will be watching how things go. We're still trying to enjoy summer. Supply issues may still cause disruptions, but at this point I'm feeling pretty philosophical about that. We have some supplies, and we can be somewhat flexible. We're doing the same as @prairiewindmomma, taking care of dental appointments and eyeglasses. I may lay in a few Christmas presents in case of problems later, but nothing extreme. I never know what people will want months in advance anyway.

For a whole cohort of older workers, retirement is an option. My sample has been taking it.

Regarding former employees choosing not to go back, a few examples: My own former employer is desperately trying to hire people for a front-lines position dealing with the public. I did the job for years, had planned to return after kids were present ages, and would be rehired without a doubt, but I'm choosing to stay home. The extra money would be fine, but why would I put myself in a room with lots of other people right now? I can go back later if I want. Several former coworkers from the same job have chosen to retire over the last year. High public contact positions really aren't very attractive at the moment if one has alternatives. My cousin, a nurse, retired early in 2020. She and her husband are in their 60s, and he has extra risk factors. She hadn't planned to retire that early, but says she loves being retired and has no intention of returning to work. I do know a young man who isn't working and probably has been collecting benefits. He didn't work for years before the pandemic, either. He's got multiple personal issues, some consequences of bad choices, some he was never in a position to control. He's actually applied for several jobs this summer without getting hired.

Good luck. I hope they show sense and require masks.

Hugs. That sounds incredibly stressful. I hope the fire stays away from your area.

I would give both sitter and parent copies of Ross Greene's The Explosive Child. I might even go through and highlight relevant sections first, because I'm getting the feeling that no one in this scenario has done much reading about child development, and maybe they don't read naturally to analyze and solve problems. Make it easy for them. Scarlett, I feel for you. This has to be a hard situation to navigate. Thank goodness the babysitter is willing to take advice from you, though.

I'll second the suggestion of a good, tall fence around the property, including across the driveway. Since you're thinking of getting a big dog, it'll be great for them to have the room to run, and you can worry less. Or if the property is too big, then still fence the area around the house and driveway. Maybe even put a sign on the gate saying not to open because the dog might be outside. Maybe one of those speaker systems where they can buzz you from the gate to identify themselves? Most of the things you list seem fairly normal to me: certainly we get sales visits and religious groups, and the odd person just stopping for random reasons. I tend to assume they're answering the phone, or something innocent. We're in a low crime, stable area, so nothing has really made me suspect worse motives. The driving behavior does worry me, but as you say, pretty much all you can do there is try to avoid the worst times. Is your new house far enough from your old house that the driving behavior is significantly different? I'll also agree with pp that, er, communication techniques go a long way towards getting the necessary medicine.

For this part, get him a wheelchair that can be easily folded and put in the trunk, so someone else can just wheel him right out to the van and then into his destination. A volunteer or paid driver should be able to do that. I would think a van driver taking people to the senior center would be accustomed to handling wheelchairs. By all means pursue the PT, but the social stuff is just too important to leave waiting for PT, kwim?