The eclipse is over now. Some people apparently don't seem to realize that you can't convince anyone to change their mind and watch an eclipse that has already happened. If you watched it and it was amazing and you really loved it, good for you! Seriously. I'm glad you were able to see it and that it was everything you'd hoped it would be and more. If, like me, you went about your day and didn't care about the eclipse, I'm sorry our thread got hijacked. I have no clue why all of the debate happened after the eclipse, but I can guarantee you that it wasn't to be educational, because... you know... THE ECLIPSE WAS ALREADY OVER. I have no idea why this thread took on a life of its own, but it's cracking me up that people think they get to feel all superior and decide what everyone else should find exciting and interesting. (Spoiler alert: It didn't work. 😁)

I'm sorry to have picked on you here, but it kind of cracked me up that you were saying you were trying to show people how the eclipse was more interesting than we thought... but you didn't post until AFTER the eclipse was over, so it's not like you were actually trying to convince anyone to change their minds and decide to watch the eclipse after all. 😉

You should do that. I won't be participating in those threads though, because I enjoy good literature and I think homeschooling is great, but if you don't, you should definitely start threads to talk to likeminded people about it. Apparently though, you need to add JAWM to your thread title, because I thought my thread title was very self-explanatory, yet here we are.

No. It actually wasn't clickbait. If it was clickbait, I would have wanted people to come in and argue with me about it. I think most people (including you) know me better than that.

Ok, so the cool kids were clearly not "the actually fun people." 🙄 And those of us who posted on this thread probably also made fun of the people who got excited about astronomy and science in school. Seriously??? You have got to be kidding me with those ridiculous generalizations!

OK, so now those of us who didn't look at the eclipse are "childish." 🤣 Wow. You really need to get over yourself.

Actually, if someone posted a "Come in here if you think Easter Sunday is a stupid waste of time," I wouldn't even bother opening the thread because I would assume someone started it to talk about it with likeminded people. If you didn't like the idea that I might 'yuk' your 'yum,' you probably should have read my thread title and moved along to one of the pro-eclipse threads. It's not like I tricked anyone into reading it -- my thread title was very specific.

Are the eggs peeled or still in their shells? That makes a big difference in the way I would answer your question.

It’s so bizarre! I never expected people to be this insistent that this eclipse was so life-altering and awe-inspiring, and to seemingly be upset that some of us just didn’t care about it. Why do they care that we didn’t care? Nobody said they couldn’t enjoy the eclipse. I’m happy for them if it was a great experience for them. What I don’t understand is why anyone is acting like something is wrong with us because we didn’t care about it. Why not just post in the pro-eclipse threads and share their feelings with others who feel the same way? It’s not like they’re going to change our minds about it here on this thread, particularly because the eclipse is already over, anyway. As you said, it’s cool that we all get off on different things. It’s just weird that some people seem to want to insist that everyone should get excited over the same things that they do and get kind of offended if we don’t.

Thank you for explaining this better than I did. I agree completely!

Or, you know, maybe if you are so offended by those of us who weren’t excited about the eclipse, maybe you should have just skipped this thread altogether. It’s not like the thread title didn’t tell you exactly what it was about. 🙂

Thanks! Considering my thread title, I’m guessing that adding JAWM to it wouldn’t have made any difference. Obviously, people can post in any thread they would like and say whatever they would like to say, but I do think it was a little rude when there were already existing threads that were very pro-eclipse. It’s kind of amazing that people seem to feel the need to shame me for having started a thread for the people who didn’t care about the eclipse, particularly when I intentionally didn’t go into the pro-eclipse threads and try to hijack them. I even said in my OP that I hope the people who wanted to see the eclipse got good weather for it and that they enjoyed it, but apparently because some others here and I don’t personally see anything life-altering or tremendously awesome about an eclipse, we need to be lectured about it. 🙄

Am I the only person who is secretly wondering if, about 2 minutes into the totality, a lot of people will be rushing back to their cars to try to beat the traffic, like this is the work’s largest fireworks display and everybody is making a mad dash to get out of the parking lot before the other million cars create a massive traffic jam?

Ok, I'm just going to say it. I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE STUPID ECLIPSE. I am, at this moment, in a place where there will be totality. Do you know who cares about it? TOURISTS. Do you know who is mostly really annoyed by the whole thing and all of the traffic and inconvenience that is expected as a result of all these tourists who are traveling ridiculous distances to see this thing? LOCALS. And the police and the emergency service people who have been ramping up for potential problems don't seem all that thrilled about it, either. Street signs are up all over the place, marking roadways that are reserved for emergency response units only, in the hope that a bunch of idiots won't park on them and block access. We have been told that the smartest thing we can all do is stay home and off the roads. If you're one of the people who traveled far and wide to see this thing, I'm glad the weather is great and you'll get to see the event you're excited about. I really am happy for you. But seriously, am I the only one who just doesn't care? Am I the only one who won't even bother stepping outside my door to see this thing? Because I have read so much about people taking long trips for this, and people who reserved hotel rooms years in advance, and I am absolutely shocked by that. People who would balk at traveling to visit family or who would be aghast that a friend or relative is having a destination wedding, have reserved very overpriced hotel rooms in mostly boring places, months or years in advance so they could witness a 4-minute event and then turn around and drive hundreds of miles back home. I mean, ok, maybe it will be cool to look at it if you're interested in it, but people are treating it like the Second Coming, and that seems a little... extreme. Sorry to be so cynical, and I really don't mean to insult anyone, but the ridiculous amount of hype surrounding this eclipse seems insane to me.

Thanks! Just a heads-up for anyone who bought their products at a wholesale club, Tide needs the codes off of the cardboard box that held the bags of laundry pods, because the individual bags don't have lot numbers or bar codes on them. I don't know about you, but I recycle the cardboard boxes immediately and put the bags of Tide Pods on a shelf in my laundry room, so I don't have any of the information they need. It's not a big deal for me, but I know that some people here have large families and use a lot of laundry detergent, so I decided to call P&G to see if they can at least tell me what dates the affected products were manufactured, and also to see if they are doing anything for people who didn't save the boxes. I'm definitely taking one for the team here, because I have already been on hold for more than 10 minutes. I'm doing other things while I'm waiting, or else I would have hung up long before now! (Their hold music is awful!) Edited to add: I waited on hold for 35 minutes before I gave up and hung up. Sorry! 😞

Yes, that's just CREEPY!

An hour? She can block you in? How generous of her. 🙄 No thanks!!! Seriously, could she be any more impersonal about it?! It sounds more like she's scheduling you for a dental cleaning than lunch with a friend! UGH.

I have to say that I was wondering if Katy knows more about this situation than I do (maybe from past threads I missed?) because I can’t figure out why she would think anyone FEARS Hannah’s dd or thinks she is DANGEROUS. I’m sensing a very well-meaning girl who is still a bit immature and socially inept. I can’t imagine anyone fearing a girl who just seems a little desperate for friendship and companionship.

Honestly, I agree with you, and I think it’s cowardly, too, but because it is happening so often, I’m wondering if it’s because your daughter has a fairly intense personality, and maybe the people are worried that she might have a bad temper and get very angry if they try to explain why they don’t want to have a relationship with her anymore. Or maybe they just feel guilty about hurting her feelings and are taking the cowardly way out. Either way, I think it’s awful, because it’s such a helpless feeling to be rejected and not know why. 😞

Hannah, I hate to ask this, but are you sure your daughter is psychologically and emotionally ready to be living away from home? Do you think she might be better off moving back home where you can provide more of the emotional support she needs? From what you have described, it sounds like she is desperate for love, attention, and acceptance, but it isn’t realistic for her to get that level of support from people who don’t know her that well, and who are probably overwhelmed by her neediness. It also appears that she has an incredibly high-level of expectation for new relationships, and most people just aren’t comfortable with that level of intensity. Also, it doesn’t sound like your dd is the most forgiving person, and that she has certain expectations of her friends and boyfriends, and when those people don’t meet those expectations, she doesn’t seem to want to give them a second chance, even when they attempt to contact her again later to rekindle the relationships. I feel very sad for your daughter, and I think you should definitely discuss these things with her therapist, so hopefully the therapist will be able to help her learn how to deal with her relationships in a healthier way.

I have no idea what might have happened to him, but I would probably advise him to go straight to a good neurologist if possible, because that's where he will end up, anyway, and the sooner he gets whatever scans and tests are needed, the better. I hope it turns out to be nothing serious, Scarlett. I'm sure this is very scary and confusing for him and his wife. 😞

Without knowing what the kid did, I don't know what to say, except that if he did things that put others in danger in some way, I would keep my mouth shut and let the kid get kicked out. If you said he was being unfairly accused, I would be all in favor of trying to help, but it doesn't sound like that's the case here at all. I don't think you have a responsibility to inform anyone about what you know. If the parents care enough, they will be able to find the same information that you have. Let them do their own research.

I have been very fortunate to have had healthy family dynamics, but I really feel for @Ting Tang. I hate it that her dh is so disrespectful to her, and how he and his family are so awful to her. 😞 I also hate it that her son is witnessing this kind of dysfunction, and I hope he doesn't grow up to emulate his father's behavior.

It sounds like your dh and his family don't respect you, and that the situation isn't going to change. Frankly, it disgusts me that you are treated this way, and what's even worse is that you seem to accept that this is the life you're stuck with. Do you have an exit plan for the future, in case you finally reach a point where your situation is intolerable? Because if I were in your shoes, I would already be putting cash aside whenever possible, and I would be making sure I was employable so I could support myself and my child. Also, if I were you, I would confront SIL directly and tell her to mind her own business and to stop texting your son. I would also tell your son that if he doesn't like what SIL is telling him, he is free to be honest with her and tell her to knock it off.

I would want it biopsied. I had a small mole on my temple that the dermatologist said was completely harmless... and it wasn't. I am very concerned that your mole grew so quickly, and I would want to be 100% sure it's nothing to worry about. (I'm thinking something like basal cell carcinoma, not melanoma -- I'm not trying to scare you into thinking it's deadly! -- but you don't want to mess with anything that could possibly be skin cancer.) Editing to add: I just realized you are a few hours away from a dermatologist, but my advice still stands. I think your health is worth the long car ride. (Also, is there a hospital near you? Wouldn't they have a dermatologist or a doctor who could do the biopsy for you?)