Does your state offer alternative paths to certification? I was just hearing on NPR that lots of states are reducing requirements. In Wisconsin, for example, soon there will be NO requirements to become a special education teacher other than having a bachelor's degree - not necessarily in special education, either. Lots of states grant provisional certificates, too, and often they're turned into regular certificates after a certain amount of time in the classroom - apparently you've proved yourself by then.

Well, she got her tooth stuck in her jacket last night trying to groom, so I had to take it off. Guess I'll just stick with the official one when it gets here.

It would be better if I were a better seamstress, or had supplies... I don't have any velcro, but making it close with velcro would be awesome because it's hard to squeeze a cat into a cat leotard.

Just a snug fit. She looks like she's wearing a singlet and heading off to a cat wrestling match 😍

I'm so sorry! All of this sounds awful. 😞 From an inflammation standpoint... gluten and dairy are both very inflammatory, so you could try a couple weeks off them and see how things go.

Sushi rice is my favorite rice! To cook it, rinse 1 cup of rice until the water is pretty clear. Then add to a small pot with 1 1/4 c water. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 10 minutes, covered. Leave the cover on, and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then, fluff with a fork. My go-to meal that I eat every day for lunch or dinner is just some kind of rice (lately sushi rice), and sautéed meat and veggies. I'm too lazy to do this, but you could use different sauces to create all sorts of different flavors. Even just a squeeze of lime changes the flavor. Today we had sushi rice topped with a chicken thigh, mushrooms, and bok choy. Just seasoned with salt. I like rice meals b/c the rice cooks while I do cook the rest of the stuff, and dinner can be ready in 20 minutes or so. I also like rice noodles instead of rice.

Duck for me!

Wow! I made a DIY version of the Thundershirt - basically just a tube with holes for my cat's head and front legs - I'm no seamstress!!! - and she slept ALL NIGHT! She purred! She cuddled! This hasn't happened in I can't remember how long. So... it was just one night but I'm pretty excited. And actually rested. Woo hoo!

Thank you to your daughter. I'm so sorry she's having to experience this nightmare 😞

@regentrude Popping in again to say, have you heard of Thundershirts? I just ordered one for my 15 yr old cat who is meowing ALL NIGHT and driving me crazy, and it made me think of you and Cricket. A quick Google search shows that many people sew their own, or even do a simpler solution of using an ace bandage or a baby T shirt. Maybe it will work for us!!

Awesome!!! Are you still paying per page?

Now that sounds like a disease I definitely don't want!

I can only speak for myself, but I was sooo relieved when my parents split up. I finally didn't have to worry about how my parents were getting along and it was great. My mom was really sad for a few years but now she says she can't believe she stayed married as long as she did. There has got to be a big difference in how kids perceive two happy adults being married, and two unhappy adults remaining married.

This is where I'm at. If people could forgo wants that are truly just wants, people who really need to be near other people could do so more safely. That's about the extent of my thinking. I don't begrudge anyone working out of the home, seeing an elderly relative, or sending kids to school, or being around others for mental health reasons. Then you just do your best.

I hear you. I'm not seeing my mom inside or even hugging her when we're outside, and it's awful. She is so lonely. I am angry with people who are not taking this seriously. Like someone else said, if everyone was being as careful as possible, people who need connections (elderly, people who live alone) would be safer connecting. My mom lives alone. She is not seeing other people hardly at all, and always outside. It's 30 degrees today, though, and soon it'll be too cold to visit outside for more than a couple minutes. Honestly, I wouldn't blame her if she DID visit inside, because geez! Living alone is hard enough when it's not a pandemic. But people with families... they can stay home except for doing the essentials (speaking generally, of course there are exceptions). Seeing people being irresponsible is so upsetting.

I didn't have a great relationship with my father growing up. I knew that he was upfront with my mom about never wanting kids. For the most part I don't have too many memories of him, although we lived in the same house until my parents divorced when I was about 13. I was not mistreated thankfully, but I never really felt like he enjoyed my company. I'm not sure if that's true or not because I've never brought it up with him, but that's how I remember it. Mostly I was mad a lot because he was not as good to my mom as I thought he should be, and that made it hard for me to enjoy HIS company. I have tons of awesome memories with my mom growing up. I think of my mom as my mom, my father as my father, but not them together as "my parents." They are separate in my mind. Things got a lot better with my dad when I became an adult. We had more things to talk about. We now have a good-but-distant relationship with occasional phone calls and a visit every decade or so. It's fine with me. I do feel a bit jealous of other people with fantastic relationships with their dads, but I've made peace with it. I'm not sure how this helps you at all... my story is a bit different than yours... but I want to give you hope that your relationship with your son can still be a good one.

Yum. That sounds delicious!

Well, I just ordered 3!!

Val for short! A cat named Val just seems right.

Yeah.... that's like the vet handing me a bottle of (HUGE!) antibiotic pills and saying, give it to her once a day! Ummmm..... how exactly?! We managed after intense difficulty and it was fairly awful each time. I'm lucky I have a cat that doesn't try to shred me. Amazingly she never even tried to bite me. She just tolerated us incompetent humans trying to give her a pill!

Ha! I can only imagine. I was just wondering the other day if I'm supposed to bathe my cat. She's 15 and has never had a single bath!

Mary and marry are the same to me, and merry (and berry) have the short /e/ like in bed. (Maine)

Carry and airy sound the same to me, but berry is different.

Thank you so much, everyone! I can't wait to research some of these ideas. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with an aversion to swishy fabric on beds! Also... I figured out the word I was looking for: rustles! Not sure why I couldn't pull that one up.

My bedding is driving me crazy! It's cold in our room so we have four blankets that are all heavy, so it's like being flattened under them each time I go to bed. I'd like to get a lighter weight comforter to replace a couple of the blankets. My only hesitation is that I always buy bedding thinking it's going to be great, and then I don't like it. It drives DH up a wall, but I can't help it, I'm particular about bedding! My especial pet peeve is comforters that make noise... like fabric that is swishy when you roll over (I'm probably not describing this well). Anyone have a nice quiet comforter that they really like?