I've tried that. I also try not to think. God help me if I form any kind of full thought, I'll be up for sure.

No, that's really not it at all. Let me see if this makes sense- Think of the most deeply held relationship you have beside your dh. The one that you hold above all other relationships. Maybe the one that has had and still has significant influence on your life. Could you imagine marrying a man who didn't believe that person exists? Even if he was said, "It's ok, I fully support your belief that this is a real person, but I don't think he/she exists." You'd be living in 2 different realities. That analogy falls WOEFULLY short of what following Jesus means in my life, but maybe it helps. Maybe not. I think everyone who is not a Christian is doing an admirable job of trying to explain why this is offensive to them, but gently and truthfully, none of you, even those who formerly considered themselves Christian, are really getting anywhere close to fully representing our beliefs around this issue. And why would you? It's not your framework, so I completely understand why it's not clear to you. But what it's definitely not is elevating Christians above non-Christians. Not at all. This isn't about Christians being better humans than non-Christians. It's not about eliminating a category of lesser people. The Christian marriage covenant is something very different than any other view of marriage. It's primarily about Jesus and the church. In order to enter into that kind of marriage covenant, both people really need to agree that it's what they're doing.

My magic hour is 3am. If i get up at 3, forget it, I'm up for the next 2 hours. In fact, I won't be able to fall asleep again until I have 30 minutes until I actually must wake up, then I'll be an angry mess when my alarm goes off. I now try to force myself to just go back to sleep without peeing. It actually works out better as I can usually get another hour or 2 of sleep before I'm bursting.

I think it was you who posted an article some time ago about those 5 factors? Do you remember? Maybe it wasn't, but I think the point of the article was that those factors tend to not change about a person over time. At the time it was posted, I was coming to grips with my dh's personality changes due to a major injury and the chronic pain that followed it. He went from being way more extroverted than myself to being almost reclusive. He still is now much more introverted than me and I still have to work through my own feelings of isolation as a result. All that to say, almost everything can change about a person. That's why the Christian marriage covenant is not based on anything having to do with the person themselves, and everything to do with imaging Christ and the church. If my marriage was based on that list, 3 out of 5 points would have failed us. (I know you weren't saying to base a marriage on the list- this is just my musing about trying to nail compatibility down to any list.)

I totally agree. The trick is to enforce this boundary without emotionally engaging. A very calm, "please go to your room and stay there until you are ready to be kind to the family," rather than getting worked up myself. The other key is to allow them to come back into a friendly room and not have to rehash everything. A good portion of the time ds falls asleep when this happens. Also, I have to stay aware of what I'm letting the other kids get away with. When one kid is being particularly difficult, I sometimes hone in on that kid and let the other kids get away with attitudes that also need correction. This one is easy for me to lose sight of, so I have to be willing to have it pointed out. My son is particularly justice driven, so he's very quick to point out inconsistency on my part.

Goliath is a great coaster. That was my favorite from our trip. It's smooth as butter, but makes your heart drop into your stomach. I think we rode it 4 or 5 times. I did ok on Viper. Apocalypse and X2 were awful.

I've also always LOVED coasters. Like many others have written, my body doesn't love them as much as it used to. I definitely can't do jerky wooden coasters anymore. We took the kids to Magic Mountain a few years ago, and there were a few coasters that I would never ride again. However, I still love smooth, non-jerky coasters, even some that go upside down. I'm not afraid for my safety at all. I'm more likely to die driving to the amusement park than I am on a ride. But for the OP, do what you want. There's really never a compelling reason to force yourself on a coaster. If your son goes on as a single rider, he'll probably get through the line more quickly, so that's a bonus. Hand him a churro when he gets off and you'll be his hero.

Honestly, that's a mark in the pro rewear an old dress column for me.

Aw, that's kind of sweet! One dress for all of the important moments in life. I think I could jive with that approach.

This. California really forces you to make a decision and stick to it. Eldest dd, we were both just done by 7th grade. She enrolled starting in 8th grade. Ds, sports is a huge, HUGE deal. I know for some people around here that's lame, but the reality is that it's a very important aspect of his life. He enrolled in 8th grade as a soft opening. He gained admission into a selective high school STEM program and enters that in the fall. It's been a very successful year for him. Youngest dd, she has watched her older siblings and wants the same experience. We have a transfer request in for next year (it's complicated) and if she gets it, she'll enroll for her 8th grade year. If she doesn't, we'll homeschool one more year and then enroll for high school. She's actually a kid that I could imagine hsing for high school, but she wants to at least give it a shot.

In the summer we try to do at least a week, usually closer to 2, at a vacation home (almost always a friends'). Most years we try to get away for 3-5 days sometime during winter or spring break. This years' got canceled because of a poorly timed blizzard.

Using the time to reboot your diet is not a terrible idea, but broth fasting is. What if you guys did Whole 30 and used the time to clean out your cupboards of any junk? Then when your kids get home, the kitchen will have been emptied of the garbage and the entire family can eat better.

Benjamin Moore Edgecomb gray, or if you want to go even lighter, Pale Oak.

That's a feature of the virus. You see it more often with shingles (same virus, different type of rash). SaveSave

I don't think any service is going to balk at once a month. I think you can expect to spend about $150.

Moving is hard. We just moved 5 miles last month and even that was hard. Put your shoulder into it. It's a frenetic amount of work for a few months, and then life returns to (new) normal. But don't think too much about all of it. Just focus on what needs to be done next. We did a cross country move when my eldest was 11. One of the things I told her was that she was about to meet her new best friends. There are new relationships to be had- people that you all will be so grateful to have in your lives. That's what you're pressing towards.

What a life changing kindergarten class!

I've known my oldest friend for 31 years. We met in first grade and have been friends ever since. Sometimes the best of friends, sometimes more distant. We now live 6 hours apart. We snap chat and text every day. We talk every few weeks.

Just to add, even though it didn't work the first time, they usually give extremely low doses of benzos the first time because people can have such extreme reactions. Chances are if she got a slightly higher dose, it would probably help her.

EMLA to numb the site, versed for the fear.

I guess I'm having a hard time separating the 2. Especially because I've never heard of him doing anything evil. If he was now accused of commiting a crime against someone, I could see the debate. But he's someone who was horribly abused and is now breaking free from his abuser. I have no reason to think he's evil or disgusting. It just struck me as an odd sentence to interject into the conversation.

If I was his constituent, this would make me question everything about him.

I don't really get that statement. How can a child victim of a pedophile be disgusting, evil and/or sick?

What?! I'm intrigued. Now I'm dying to know what your specific job is!

I truly do not notice these filler words. I probably use a ton of them in my own speech. I find myself typing out "so" at the beginning of sentences pretty regularly. ETA: I am neither intentionally copying the young, hip kids, nor do I feel pathetic. :001_tt2: