What are some of the weirdest choices people you know have made?

[JumpyTheFrog]

What are some weird choices people you know have made? I mean strange choices - not anything that obviously immoral or illegal.

 

At a church we went to before we had kids, one of the elders had an extremely sick wife. Their daughter was college age, so they were probably under 50 years old. After years (or maybe decades) of illness, she died. He married her best friend 6 weeks after her death! I would think getting engaged 6 weeks later was bad enough, but getting married seemed outrageous!

 

We didn't know him well. We can't be the only people who wondered if he had been having an affair with her, although we never suggested this to anyone. I was assured by someone who knew him better that he and his wife had made the plan together before her death. I don't think they had small kids, so it all seemed very strange to us.

 

What strange choices have you seen people make?

[swellmomma]

There really isn't anything overly strange that I can think of. Most people I know IRL are uber mainstream which to me is strange lol There is a few that are super crunchy granola but even their strangest (like placenta encapsulation) doesn't seem weird to me. Actually the choices the mainstream people make seem weirder to me than the teh crunchy granola because of which way I lean. But those are decisions that are considered "normal" kwim.

[countrygal]

:blink: wow. so much for trying to be non-chalant about it! When I read your heading but before your post I thought right away of someone who did that 6 months after his wife died. But I was kinda thinking it was arranged also by the now deceased wife... I think she wanted her friend to raise her small children who took care of them when she was sick. Now that pastor... seems like he was waiting and waiting for her to finally go. Kinda strange.

 

I guess I can't think of anything else. Maybe I will later.

[Julie Smith]

I suppose all the weird choices that aren't illegal, immoral, or related to mental illness involve commutes or money.

 

I know several people who work in location A, then purposely buy a house in location B - because it is 1) perfect house 2) good price. Even thought it means spending 3 hours a day commuting. ???? (In total so 90 minutes each way)

 

Also people who will spend money they don't have on things that are luxuries.

 

Now if you want to talk about crazy things that are illegal, immoral, or just plain beyond crazy. Then the stories would be interesting. :)

[JumpyTheFrog]

You must read a lot or know some non-average people if placenta encapsulation doesn't seem a bit odd! I had home births and read about it, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

[JumpyTheFrog]

I think she wanted her friend to raise her small children who took care of them when she was sick.

 

See, that would have made what the man did more understandable, but since his daughter was grown and already married herself, it seemed, well, kind of tacky. I would think it probably took at least 6 weeks to get the first wife removed from bank accounts, the house deed, etc. Who wants to change all the paperwork twice in such a short time?

[swellmomma]

You must read a lot or know some non-average people if placenta encapsulation doesn't seem a bit odd! I had home births and read about it, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

 

I have spoken to many people about it because it is something I have considered if I ever have another child. So it is not a weird thing to me lol just not something I have done yet. As for the knowing some no-average people...yup that is one way to put it lol

 

I did finally think of one. I know 1 woman that takes her kids to anti-abortion rallies/protests. She has also had them at boycotting protests etc. Makes little picket signs etc for them to carry. THe oldest one (2 weeks younger than my oldest) is the only one that really knows much about what they are protesting. The other 3 are just along for the ride, yelling out the chants she teaches them. That is a weird thing. But it took me a while to think about it because I just chalk up to something K does, kwim

Edited November 3, 2012 by swellmomma

[regentrude]

You must read a lot or know some non-average people if placenta encapsulation doesn't seem a bit odd! I had home births and read about it, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

 

I know a lady who works as a doula and does placenta encapsulation. She dehydrates placentas for her clients at home. I guess I have gotten so used to the idea that it did not occur to me as strange...

[PeacefulChaos]

Actually, OP, the situation you describe isn't all that rare. I've known several situations like that.

[regentrude]

Actually, OP, the situation you describe isn't all that rare. I've known several situations like that.

 

:iagree:

Especially if such a long illness is involved. If the friend helped with the caregiving, he and the husband can have become extremely close, without any inappropriateness.

 

One of my best friends from high school died at age 31; her husband married their mutual friend who had helped him through the grief. Very common.

[tex-mex]

Oooh, girl... have you not read my posts on my nutty family? :D

[tex-mex]

I know a lady who works as a doula and does placenta encapsulation. She dehydrates placentas for her clients at home. I guess I have gotten so used to the idea that it did not occur to me as strange...

That fascinates me.

 

And yes... I do not find that strange, either. :lol:

[Carrie12345]

I know several people who work in location A, then purposely buy a house in location B - because it is 1) perfect house 2) good price. Even thought it means spending 3 hours a day commuting. ???? (In total so 90 minutes each way)

 

)

 

That's normal in my area, though it's closer to 2 hours each way if you work regular business hours.

City people buy here to get their kids out of Philly and NYC, and suburban people buy here to save thousands in property and state income tax.

 

We're the 'burb-type people who couldn't afford a 'burb house/taxes.

[Belacqua]

A friend of mine has opted to stay in a really bad marriage. I don't think her husband is physically abusive, but he is plain nasty and has at least two girlfriends he doesn't bother to hide. She doesn't think he'll change, she has plenty of money of her own (so she isn't staying for financial security), and she spends a great deal of time telling me how miserable she is and how she wants to divorce. When I ask why she isn't making a change, she just shrugs and says she doesn't know.

 

I don't presume to understand how another person's marriage works, and there might be lots of factors I don't know about. But I really don't get her reasoning on this.

[Julie Smith]

That's normal in my area, though it's closer to 2 hours each way if you work regular business hours.

City people buy here to get their kids out of Philly and NYC, and suburban people buy here to save thousands in property and state income tax.

 

We're the 'burb-type people who couldn't afford a 'burb house/taxes.

 

Makes sense if you live in a big city. But it is more like living in small city A, driving past farmyards for 50 minutes to outskirts of small town B.

 

It has me :confused::confused:

[Farrar]

Makes sense if you live in a big city. But it is more like living in small city A, driving past farmyards for 50 minutes to outskirts of small town B.

 

It has me :confused::confused:

 

It's normal here yet it also completely confuses me.

[Wheres Toto]

I suppose all the weird choices that aren't illegal, immoral, or related to mental illness involve commutes or money.

 

I know several people who work in location A, then purposely buy a house in location B - because it is 1) perfect house 2) good price. Even thought it means spending 3 hours a day commuting. ???? (In total so 90 minutes each way)

 

Also people who will spend money they don't have on things that are luxuries.

 

Now if you want to talk about crazy things that are illegal, immoral, or just plain beyond crazy. Then the stories would be interesting. :)

 

That's normal in my area, though it's closer to 2 hours each way if you work regular business hours.

City people buy here to get their kids out of Philly and NYC, and suburban people buy here to save thousands in property and state income tax.

 

We're the 'burb-type people who couldn't afford a 'burb house/taxes.

 

Yep, we see it all the time around here. People who live in Pennsylvania or extreme western NJ but work in NYC or the eastern counties of NJ. Has a lot to do with home prices and availability of jobs. Some do a commute from suburb to suburb.

[A.Balaban]

That's normal in my area, though it's closer to 2 hours each way if you work regular business hours.

City people buy here to get their kids out of Philly and NYC, and suburban people buy here to save thousands in property and state income tax.

 

We're the 'burb-type people who couldn't afford a 'burb house/taxes.

 

This was what my dad did. When we moved to CT, he was working in NYC.

[Nscribe]

 

What strange choices have you seen people make?

 

I think having a teenager has broaden my view and fewer and fewer things seem strange.

[Spy Car]

I've read about some people that educate their children at home :D

 

Bill

[Hoot]

I have an aunt and uncle who had 4 kids, put the second to youngest one up for adoption (he was like 6 at the time) because they just had their hands full. :001_huh: They then changed their minds several months later pulling him out of the system. Sadly, this was a kid they couldn't really stand from the moment he was born for some odd reason. He was THE easiest kid on the planet, but they just very clearly did not like him at all.

[FairProspects]

I've read about some people that educate their children at home :D

 

Bill

 

:lol:

[Audrey]

Well, if we're talking about relationships... I have a friend who is legally separated from her spouse who cheated on her multiple times, but aside from the fact that she and the kids live in the house across from him, you wouldn't know they weren't still very married and lovey-dovey.

 

She has explanations for why it is this way, but none of them ring true to me. I find it strange because even for all her explanations, I don't get it, but then... it isn't my relationship to get, either.

[JessReplanted]

I have an aunt and uncle who had 4 kids, put the second to youngest one up for adoption (he was like 6 at the time) because they just had their hands full. :001_huh: They then changed their minds several months later pulling him out of the system. Sadly, this was a kid they couldn't really stand from the moment he was born for some odd reason. He was THE easiest kid on the planet, but they just very clearly did not like him at all.

 

 

How sad!! :blink: Talk about abandonment issues...

[Element]

I knew a lady who had waited years to get a settlement for a work injury. Within a few weeks of finally receiving the settlement money, she had spent thousands on little purchases for her family (electronics, clothes, makeup for her girls) and the rest went to a new motorcycle for her husband and breast augmentation surgery for herself. Within literally 6 weeks she was posting on facebook that her husband desperately needed a second job because they couldn't pay their rent. They have since sold the motorcycle. It was unbelievably bizarre and sad to me. They have a very bright daughter who will graduate high school in a couple of years. I just hope she (the daughter) can get some kind of public assistance for school because there's not a dime for her from her parents. She (the mom) is a very loving and dedicated mother; I honestly think the money situation is some kind of mental problem. I just have no idea. The whole thing was very sad to watch.

[Sun]

A lot of these strike me as really sad.

 

There's a house that I drive past regularly. Several years ago, they replaced all the windows with much smaller windows. We live in the northwest. It's very gray here. I don't understand making all the windows half the size they were before and letting in so much less light! Plus, it must have cost a lot to have all the siding fixed afterward!

[Elizabeth in MN]

Okay, I'll say it - Lotus Birth. Doesn't the placenta get stinky pretty quickly?

 

Sleeping without a teApot cover because the teApot needs to "breathe".

 

My dog and her hunger strikes if I go out for more than two hours. Her gurgling tummy at night keeps me awake.

 

Eating things that are still alive. Eww.

 

Women getting super big fake books. I have large books and I have the back strain to prove it. Why would anyone willingly do that to themselves?

 

McMansions - just, why? A room built exclusively for wrapping presents?

 

Not going to the doctor/dentist when they can afford it.

 

Non-book lovers. This is especially troubling as I seem to have given birth to one.

 

"Spiritual but no religious" this phrase confuses me. I'm less judge-y about this phrase than the others above, but it *really* confuses me.

Edited November 4, 2012 by Elizabeth in MN

[Farrar]

Dh is always sleeping on top of the covers. Like, he makes the bed so he can sleep on top. So weird.

 

Also, I hear some people send their kids to institutions all day. That seems rather odd. :D

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

DH brought 5 hens and 1 rooster home!

[Sparkle]

Okay, I'll say it - Lotus Birth. Doesn't the placenta get stinky pretty quickly?

 

Sleeping without a teapot cover because the teapot needs to "breathe".

 

 

OK, I don't know what the first one is and I'm not going to google it.

 

And does your second one refer to tea or "teA"? Because, ha ha ha :lol:

[Elizabeth in MN]

And does your second one refer to tea or "teA"? Because, ha ha ha :lol:

 

Yes, exactly. Off to edit.

[Reflections]

Someone or someones (who shall remain nameless) who.....

 

Spend $20,000 to fix a roof themselves over 2 years when a new one would've cost $12,000 and taken a few days. And, um, it *still* leaks.

 

Buying a "security door" that has bars made out of such flimsy plastic that I worry the kids will break it when they open the door too roughly.

 

Going to the dentist because your tooth has been hurting for WEEKS and then while waiting in the office you leave because it doesn't hurt as bad anymore and then 2 weeks later you go back and the only recourse is to have it removed because of the damage.

 

Take the dog to 3 different vets and have over half a dozen tests run over a week because "something isn't right" but that sore on my hand that is weeping, red and swollen - bah, it'll go away on its own .... someday .... see I'm using this cream that I got for the dog.....

[joannqn]

I don't know the whole story of how this started, but she has a frozen squirrel in her freezer that she sometimes takes out to pose for photos...as in squirrel making pickles.

 

If I recall, the squirrel froze to death in an odd position and they found him. They've had him for something like 10 years now.

[LucyStoner]

I don't know the whole story of how this started, but she has a frozen squirrel in her freezer that she sometimes takes out to pose for photos...as in squirrel making pickles.

 

If I recall, the squirrel froze to death in an odd position and they found him. They've had him for something like 10 years now.

 

And we have a winner. :lol:

[LucyStoner]

People who say they don't have time to cook and eat dinner as a family or read to their kids but watch 4+ hours of TV a day, often alone while other family members watch their own TV. What the flip is that about?

[Carpe]

I know someone who didn't get a lawyer for their divorce. Well they have lawyers now, but it's been more than 2 years and they still aren't divorced (or anywhere close) yet!

 

A family in our neighbourhood went all out crazy with the halloween decorations, but didn't give out candy... That was odd.

 

Going out for dinner when they are too broke to buy groceries.

 

Selling a van to buy a car when pregnant with twins (and they already had one). The logic was that the car would get better gas mileage than the van and they'd need all their pennies because twins are expensive. Two baby buckets and a booster seat did fit. Of course the surprise pregnancy when the twins were 4 months old ruined that.

[sahm99]

I've read about some people that educate their children at home :D

 

Bill

 

That's crazy! Yes, it is!!!

And almost six years down the road I still can't shake that feeling!:lol:

Edited November 4, 2012 by sahm99

[Seeking Squirrels]

The only thing I can think of is that I know someone who didn't name their baby until she was about 2 months old. I think they did the same with their older children, as well. They just like to get to know their baby a bit and pick a name that they feel fits. I don't think badly of them for the decision or anything, but it did strike me as odd at first!

 

 

You must read a lot or know some non-average people if placenta encapsulation doesn't seem a bit odd! I had home births and read about it, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

 

I take two every morning! We were going to hire someone to do it, but ended up doing it ourselves. Well, DH did most since I had a c/sec and tubal so I was in a lot of pain and couldn't stand at the counter long enough. I don't know anyone else IRL who has done it. I thought it sounded way crazy when I first heard about it before DD1. Now I wish I'd done it with her, too.

 

Elizabeth in MN

"Spiritual but no religious" this phrase confuses me. I'm less judge-y about this phrase than the others above, but it *really* confuses me.

I often think of myself this way. I mean that I believe in God and having a relationship with Him. I don't like all the "rules" of religion. For me, it's about a relationship, not meeting an institutions expectations. I get very put off by religion.

[Jpoy85]

Okay, I'll say it - Lotus Birth. Doesn't the placenta get stinky pretty quickly?

 

The way i understand it you dont leave the placenta sitting around on the coffee table like a decoration. :lol: You would dry it and make it into pills quite quickly.

[Soror]

The way i understand it you dont leave the placenta sitting around on the coffee table like a decoration. :lol: You would dry it and make it into pills quite quickly.

 

You're referring to encapsulation. Lotus Birth is leaving the cord attached to the placenta.

 

I cannot think of anything crazy weird off the

top of my head. I'm afraid anything else I think of as kind of weird is stuff other people think entirely normal. Dh says I live in the bubble of backwards universe in opposite land.