This exactly!

I think it would be fine for you to go and visit and attend for a while without joining. I have attended the church we go to for close to ten years now (Methodist) and have never formally joined; not joining has nothing to do with my beliefs, either. I don't think there is any need to formally join a church at all or even discuss your beliefs with church members, and I think your reasons for going are perfectly valid and solid. If it turns out to be not for your family, you can leave with no harm, no foul.

Ok, I think I'll try some of this, as well. Thanks!

Yeah, this is what I am seeing. He was always slender, but I see in old age that is a real disadvantage. I plan to get him a set of free weights and show him how to use them, along with a meal plan to put on weight and muscle mass.

Never heard of this. Is it like Ensure? My mom has been buying him Ensure, which he will drink.

When he was younger, he barely ate sweets, but he's all about that now. But I am looking for healthier food, rather than carby stuff. My dad calls carby food "fart food" because he says one fart and you're hungry again, lol! Plus, he has gotten weak and thin lately, so I need to get him to pavk on some weight (muscle and fat). I like the coconut milk idea, though!

These videos are awesome!

I need ideas for putting weight on my 91 year old father. No dietary restrictions, except he is slightly lactose intolerant, so things like rich ice cream can't be a steady thing.

Depends on how badly I wanted it.

Our family does not allow Facebook/Snapchat/Instagram or any other major social media into our lives (we do participate in NextDoor); those accounts are prohibited for all family members, myself included. I think social media is a destructive force in children's lives and that is a decision DH and I made jointly for our families. Last September, a new troop leader decided all communications would be on Facebook, which meant DD could not participate unless someone emailed, called, or otherwise told one of us about the event. I asked DD to leave the troop, but she liked the girls there, so we were basically not getting any Girl Scouting in at this troop. The ridiculous scout leader that refused to communicate in any other way actually saw me in person and would not answer my question about when the next meeting was; she insisted I check FB. Never did check FB, and the troop has since changed their policy back to the usual email communication because it didn't work out with quite a few girls. But that was my pet peeve for our troop. A scout leader whose social media use made her antisocial, LOL!

There are plenty of inexpensive hotels nearby to avoid the bugs. That's what we do when we hit Assateague (but we stay on the Virginia side).

OMG, yes. Bring bug spray and slather yourself in it in July/August.

No, you are not unreasonable. Mother's Day is for mothers. Duh.

OMG! Talk about someone living in the dark!

I was the all-nighter queen in college (and still am when I have something that needs to be done *tomorrow*). It's no badge of honor; it's procrastination and a genuine belief that I work better and more efficiently under extreme pressure. Regarding cognitive decline with little sleep: Yes, it's real for me. But I rarely studied for an exam all-night because it was useless- I wouldn't have remembered anything because sleep solidifies concepts for me. My all-nighters consisted of writing papers where I did the thinking or layout in my head (I'm one of those people who are lucky enough to compose a top-notch paper mostly in my head after several weeks of thinking on it), or tasks that did not require much mentally.

40 and 42 here for my pregnancies. I have no idea what it would feel like to be pregnant at 25. But at 53, I still feel I would have the stamina to go another round, so it couldn't have been too bad!

You know, we had a really good experience in public school up through about fourth grade, and then the place seemingly went nuts. I'm not sure what happened to elicit the changes that occurred, but after that I just soured on the school/district and we left to homeschool. Up until that point, I viewed the school as a partner, but after that...not so much. A few teachers treated DD's class poorly and the administration turned a blind eye. I became very cautious after that.

This is good to know; especially for travelers.

When I was in France 20 years ago, I went to Chantilly racecourse and was able to walk up and pet a grandson of Native Dancer. :ohmy: Went back last year and the place was locked down - couldn't get within a mile of any of the top racehorses. Times have changed.... I liked your post, but I actually don't want to see a repeat of '78. That one is in the record books like Gunbow and Kelso for me and I want it to stay that special and rare. I remember exactly where I was and what the day was like and what I was doing when Affirmed nosed Alydar out for the Triple Crown that June.

Holy crap! How does a poor family afford that for one kid, let alone multiples?!?!? What do they do for the kids whose parents don't purchase the iPads? Here, we have a huge percentage of parents who don't buy pencils, so iPads aren't happening for that crowd...

Yes, I did miss it and I apologize for that; I appreciate the disclaimer. Perhaps I missed it because read the post as implying that parents who wouldn't sign the form were neglectful in general. But a parent can have a hard time meeting those obligations to their kid and still feel that the school over-reaches in asking them to sign for such broad powers. The solution is simple enough - tailor the consent form more narrowly so that the parent is not forced to choose between handing over so much authority and ensuring their kids get adequate and appropriate care.

Definition from the all-knowing Wikipedia: "The term in loco parentis, Latin for "in the place of a parent"[1] refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent" I've bolded the word "some", which, considering we are discussing a school, could be reasonably be interpreted to mean academics and not medical care, moral or political positions, or other personal functions.

Sorry you don't think highly of me. But I was willing and able to hustle my kiester down to the local elementary school in less than 5 minutes flat to deliver what my kid needed or to sign her out of school if she was sick. She had a phone to text me for things she considered urgent. That's faster than the nurse would get her rear in gear to attend to my kid. Parents who do this should have provisions in place to meet their child's needs, and I did. When DD got old enough, she privately carried her own asthma and pain meds and took them as needed in the privacy of the bathroom.

I guess. It's weird that no matter which site you use, though, it still routes me to the same pay-for-information site. Like some clearinghouse for phone numbers or something....

I don't get it either, especially since I was able to access whitepages.com and get numbers for free as recent as a year or two ago. That's why I thought it was my device (cookies routing me elsewhere, or some such nonsense) and I tried Incognito mode. But when that didn't work, I just thought the site had changed.