I always got shit from family for the things I let me kids do when they were little. My method was to let them fail when I COULD pick them up so they would learn how to deal with things when they were old enough that I couldn’t anymore.
I’d give myself a lot of credit and say it worked really well and they’re amazing kids except my niece and nephew were coddled to the extreme and they’ve somehow managed to turn into amazing adults too. I guess you just do your best and hope for their personalities to overcome all the mistakes you made.
We call my daughter the Marilyn Munster of the family. Everyone else is quirky-to-the-point-of-neurosis, and her innate normalosity just overrode all of it.
I mean, I’ve tried: “Honey, don’t you want to quit high school and live on a rooftop in an abandoned chicken coop in San Francisco without a job, like your brother?”
“No, dad, I’ve been studying hard in college and now that I’ve passed my nursing boards and am making more than you are, I’m buying a nice, dependable car.”
“Ooh, like a vintage Short Bus rebuilt to look like a Jurassic Park jeep, with an experimental biofuel engine and patio furniture on top!”
On my to-do list for Monday was to call the AAA service center, and schedule my 95,000 mile maintenance, which includes changing the oil, and replacing the timing belt.
Guess what broke Monday morning, as I was starting the car to go to work?
Now, I get to still eagerly and find out whether my engine still has its valves.
I am so sick of my Honda Accord. I have never in my life had a car that has as many little, stupid problems as this car and part of me wishes someone would just steal it so it will no longer be my problem. Hondas are supposed to be good cars, damnit! (ftr: I learned right here on this board that for two model years, the Hondas got all shitty and, naturally, mine is one of those two years).
What’s not working today? The fucking key fob-- again. I have to replace the battery in this thing literally every 2 months because, like clock work, it’ll fail. I don’t remember ever having this issue with any other car I’ve had-- sure, the battery gets changed, but it’s once every few years.
My husband got sick last night, and spent part of the night lying on the bathroom floor. I keep telling him, sit on the pot and have the wastebasket in front of you. I’m trying to keep him hydrated. He’s not a very good patient.
I had a Toyota Highlander for 3.5 years and never once had to change the battery. I have an Audi Q5 now, too, and the battery has been going strong for over a year. Hell, our old Ford Explorer (1994, baby!) has only had to have battery changes maybe three or four times.
The good news: I’m heading into the third week of a three week vacation, visiting my middle son in Minnesota.
The bad news: 1) I forgot an embarrassing number of things and 2) it’s going to be hard to go back to work after getting used to being off. Seriously, it’ll take a day to remind myself of everything going on, and longer to get up to speed.
And I should start making a packing list now for my next trip. (Niece getting married in May.). ((Maybe I should do a mini-trip for practice between now and then. Weddings are stressful.))
The boyfriend’s CO unintentionally freaked me out. Around 1145 I get a text saying that he needs to know if boyfriend is still alive so he can put it on the morning report. Well, I left the boyfriend snoring soundly in bed, but he has been a little under the weather, and never, ever ignores my texts, and he was planning on running errands today and the folks in our neck of the woods are NOT good drivers, particularly right after a holiday…
Cue an hour and a half of texting, calling, and emailing, before I finally manage to reach him. He was quite chagrined when he realized his phone was on silent and he’d completely forgotten to check in as directed. Sigh. He was minutes away from me calling our subdivision security for a well-check.
I have to get my step-daughter’s cat spayed because my step-daughter is a worthless piece of shit with no sense of responsibility to any animal she has ever owned. She was telling us how she put the cat outside “because it was a pain in the ass” and when I asked her whether it was fixed, she couldn’t understand the question at first. In her mind, the cat was a problem which she had “fixed” the moment it hit the doorstep.
I wish the damn Panera near work would move people out who aren’t eating. Every time we go there the place is packed and at least a third to half are doing nothing but playing on their computers or reading. People take up a full table for four people by themselves. Damit people leave if it’s crowded and you’re not eating.
I encountered a similar situation at one of the cafeterias in my university. This caf had VERY limited seating space, and a few of the people there were not eating, just talking on their cell phones or doing other stuff. It infuriated me when I wanted to sit down and eat.
He’s a border collie mix. Very smart. My friend’s dogs, a border collie mix and an corgi are also afraid of booms. But they all are able to solve problems like finding an opening in a fence I throw a ball over. My guy is not generally afraid of much. He loves meeting new dogs and is curious, but not obviously frightened of new experiences. Allows himself to be treated by the vet and is happy to see a groomer.
My otherwise scardy dog, a petite female goldie, could not care less about a boom. But she’s afraid of a helium balloon, the vet, a groomer, or anything else new and strange.
However, my generalization seems incorrect. From what I’ve read, bassets are placid beasts who aren’t really great problem solvers who should not be afraid of booms.
Oh well.
Just to keep this in the pit - I pit irresponsible dog owners. Especially those who simply abandon half grown dogs at the end of a Hamptons summer or buy a pup from a breeder at Christmas time and then dump it when it doesn’t immediately fit into a family routine without any effort on the owner’s part.
Hey YOU, low-life clueless inbred: if you want to kill yourself with those cigarettes do it alone in the garage with the gas cap off, NOT in the car with your helpless kids gagging in the backseat with the windows rolled up. :mad:
