At my mom's again. Doing a lot of fitbymyk videos.

Same thought, I reported it yesterday.

I don't see that our right to even consider traditional roles has been abrogated. I'm a pretty rabid feminist who made the choice of a traditional role, homeschooling, etc.. The difference made by the women's movement is that I had the choice versus not having the choice. If it hadn't worked out I have an escape hatch, courtesy of the women's movement, to get a job, run a business, have a credit card, etc.

I did a four mile bushwhack yesterday. Traveling again today, ugh. Left behind my weights but plan to find a pair at my mother's house.

A friend who works in our local, pretty liberal high school says boys there are very much into Andrew Tate. How will this end?

quoting myself to say - instead of "casually" which denotes low-key engagement, I would rather use "easily." This is a great resource for repair, thank you for posting.

I hear this, but I'll offer an alternate take: when people can talk more casually, seriously, and openly about the immense crime that was enslavement, healing and repair seem closer to possible. I appreciate the honesty of the original post and the responses.

The first enslaved Africans in New England were acquired from the West Indies, exchanged for enslaved Indigenous Pequot people from Massachusetts in 1637. I've been researching the connections between New England and the slavery-based economies of the Caribbean which were pervasive, extensive, and wildly profitable. New Englanders can be somewhat righteous about our abolitionist heritage but Rhode Island was the state with the highest number of slave-trading ships and Boston's wealth was founded on the trade. New Englanders owned, financed, outfitted, and crewed the ships transporting captives from Africa to ports across the West Indies, South America, and the southern US and also traded salt cod and other foodstuffs to the West Indies to feed enslaved people there. Baked beans cooked with molasses and served with brown bread is considered the quintessential New England dish but all that molasses was made by enslaved laborers in the Caribbean. Even though slavery was abolished early in New England many families still profited from it here including ship builders, fishermen, sea captains and sailors, farmers, lumberjacks, carpenters, blacksmiths, coopers, mill workers, and grocery store owners.

@Indigo Blue I love it! I would come play a hand! So fun.

I've made one for ds long ago and a recent one for dd. Dh's was simpler with alder and birch sides, a little crown of beads for the K and Q, a staff for the Bishops, wool strips for reins for the Knights. Dd's was a little more elaborate with pressed flowers glued on, using natural materials from special places for her. My sister's one is going to be similar with apple and fir wood from our childhood home plus dried flowers and seaglass incorporated.

Please do - so cool! Excellent. Can you share a pic when you get it decorated?

I finished the bee platform and will put up a fence around it today. Started the chess set but need someone to cut the apple pieces as they are just too hard for me to saw by hand. I will edit the survey questions today and ask the committee to approve them and start building it. I did a few other things that weren't on my list but I'm ignoring one big task. This week or rather this weekend: put up the bee fence, pull together survey, clean the house, help dd put her stuff away, walk with hiking bestie, hike with other friend, plant peas?? pack to visit my mother, and go. And do the one big task.

Walks and hikes and yard work here, nothing formal.

I am really impressed and grateful. I sent a heartfelt thank you to the student support director. They have suite-style living for seniors only. They don't have an honors dorm but do have chem-free dorm, quiet dorm, and other theme floors eg Russian and other languages. She didn't find anyone she wanted to choose as a roomie for next year so is unfortunately going back into the lottery.

I'm so sorry, but glad you're moving forward. Xdh not being involved or paying support is a crime and so stressful. Great! I'm sure you know this but I'll just say it again: boys in puberty need a lot of food and a lot of exercise. I know there have been threads here or on the chat board asking for easy, inexpensive, nutritious meals and snacks for those years. I remember making 20 refried bean, cheese, salsa burritos for the freezer per week and my boys eating endless jars of peanut butter on endless loaves of bread. Exercise is not optional for that age, they have to sweat every day. Sweating socially is even better if there are kids they like to ride bikes or play sports with. Working with their hands while volunteering such as for church or a community organization is also really helpful for burning off that puberty angst. A couple of clarifying questions: are you totally committed to homeschool or is public school an option? Do they want to stay home? What have you been using for the one entering 11th and can you reuse their 9th materials for the entering ninth? Is there a local co-op or homeschooling community where they could do some of their classes? I'm thinking of the Oak Meadow curricula (secular) which span all the grades and all subjects. They have very clear learning guides, teacher/answer books, and incorporate arts-based activities if desired. You can pay for teacher support from the company or not, and it's fairly easy to find used sets of the grades and individual courses.

Update: she had a really good talk with the head of student support office who was so kind and motherly and smart. They've given her an "emergency" room in a different dorm that they apparently hold in reserve and today she'll meet with residential life to find a room for the remaining 5 weeks. So she feels well supported and heard and I think her panic is receding. Dh is traveling relatively nearby and will swing over there to help her move and stay for a day. She's fiery and fierce but also deeply sensitive and prone to physically incapacitating panic attacks. She called yesterday afternoon with one and we talked while she walked over to the office, it was gone when she emerged. It's so sad to me how many folks here or their children have had similar experiences. Thanks for listening and support, onward to the final weeks of our dc's first years!

I'm sorry to hear that too. Will he attend the one where he is accepted or start over?

Well, Plan B it is. Neither school took anyone off their waitlists this year.

Holding your son, your family, and you in the Light.

I wish she had asked for chem-free housing, for sure.

Thank you. I'm so sorry you had to go through that too.

Dd called me this morning at 3:30, crying hysterically. Her roommate had come in very drunk and ended up on the floor, choking and not breathing. Dd got her up and called campus safety who then called the EMTs. They didn't want to take her to the hospital but my daughter was terrified it would happen again and the girl eventually agreed to go. We just talked for 2 and a half hours and she's calm now, taking a shower. The roommate has been coming in drunk throughout the year but for goodness' sake, it was a Wednesday night, she's 18, her parents are paying north of $80,000 for her to be there doing this? Entitled, immature, irritating, what a waste of resources. How many young people in the world could use the privilege of safety and education that this girl is spending drinking? It's shameful. I have a lot of compassion for people who need help but this is terrible. Why should my traumatized kid now have to be wondering if/when this is going to happen again? She's going to talk to the residential office about getting a single for the rest of the semester but that's very unlikely. I cannot understand why drinking is so tolerated in college. The girl is 18. I appreciate the whole amnesty concept to encourage people to get help if it's needed but not having consequences doesn't help anything. This is a JAWM, I'm sure others disagree but I'm irritated and tired and feeling very protective of my dd.

I did a gentle 2 hour walk/hike today with a friend who has mobility issues. She did just fine, we just went very slowly. Might have been 2 miles but a nice elevation gain and a beautiful view. Then a 30 minute dumbbell video.

I was reading along earnestly but looked at the date when I saw @Selkie's name. @Selkie if you see this, hello!