Sitting

Intense pain, especially sitting & pooping. [2008-10-28]
Added stool softeners for more comfort, changed diet to change the constipation. Try Hemor-Rid (spelling?) in the pink tube. Soothing, helps shrink them, and doesn't stink, like Prep-H does! Hope U feel better soon!

hehe.... well, at least he's not just sitting there [2008-09-29]
;D

an 8 1/2 yo baby-sitting a 6 yo? [2008-09-20]
that seems really young, how long are they alone before the parents get home? Next summer I am considering letting my oldest who will be 14 baby-sit my youngest who will be 11 if i find a job outside the home, but even that makes me nervous. i'm sorry i don't have any good advice for you. if it were me, i would be tempted to take him to karate class or something so he could learn to open up a can on the brother if necessary

Sitting [2008-04-29]
I have three things to sit on - a rolling stool with a tractor seat, a straight chair with or without back pillow and an exercise ball. In this way, I can vary my posture, stay more alert, and even get a tiny bit of exercise with the ball.

Anyone else get low back pain from sitting at the computer all day. Any [2008-04-28]
suggestions to help this.

i get low pay from sitting at the computer all day [2008-04-28]
actually I think my neck problems are from my computer use, staring up at the screen for so long

I have 2 kitties too who love sitting under the tree. However, [2007-12-12]
my question is: Where did you find the Wii????? LOL

Thanks so much for that. I was sitting here feeling SM [2007-10-24]
terrible, even after all these years and telling people who do not even know me is humiliating. Don Then in a weak moment I went out with him and that was the beginning of the end. I was so in love with this man who made me finally feel good about myself and told me I deserved to be loved and treated right. I waited and waited for him to leave, even though he had little boys and that was killing me. I just could not see going on without him. After I wasted the time and suffered the heartache he was gone. Probably the only truthful thing he said to me on the phone was . . Don Thanks gor hearing me out. I feel like I had my second shower of the day. You have a good heart to acknowledge me like you did.

Hayseed..you crack me up.. I needed that. I was sitting here on the verge of tears..depressed..and [2007-09-15]
you made me laugh. Sadly, even her dad couldn't save her though. She lived with him but he was on the verge of a heart attack ( I feel his pain). He said he tried to avoid going home because he would get heart palpitations which I now recognize as anxiety that I also get around her. He just couldn't deal with it anymore. She drives everyone away and that hurts me too but yeah I keep thinking the only way I'll ever get away from her is enroll in a witness protection program..and of course, I feel guilty for wanting to get away from her.

I agree...just a bunch of yentas sitting around... [2007-08-04]
without much to say...I tend to think their main audience is the stay at home mom or others who most likely only get their news from them, don't seek out other sources. Whoppi Goldberg is Rosie only she is smart enough to research what she talks about.

I am sitting here laughing at both of you [2007-07-08]
What martyrs you sound like, working at night so you can be there always for those children, not a boyfriend so to put those kids first, sacrificing. I could almost throw up listening to all the people talking about their being a single mother, and? so? It is like a badge of honor. Women have raised children for long years before these days and did not bend over backwards trying to sacrifice, just part of raising children. I was a latchkey kid, my kids also (oh, guess what- I actually had to work away from the home in earlier years!!) and my grandchildren were latchkey kids. We ALL turned out alright, no gangsters, no murderers, upstanding people. The reason kids are out of control now is the way you pamper, pet and sit the kids on marshmellows and do not let them be real kids. Kids get hurt, part of life. You need to say you are sorry for the post about not watching her kid 24/7, ridiculous! And get a real life besides the children. There are other things in life, really there are.

when I roll in the driveway I see my dog sitting there staring out, waiting, waiting, and (sm) [2007-06-27]
When he sees me he yawns and stretches, then puts on this act of being all bored and sits on his tail so I cannot see it wagging... like he was not eagerly waiting for me the whole time and seeing me is no big deal. Every single time. If I have someone with me Iwatch what Walter does... and he does this every time. Oh, by the way, don

you need to keep your butt muscles tight while sitting [2007-06-20]
nm

wow, just sitting there waiting to pounce, are you? [2007-06-04]
nm

Just sitting here shaking my head [2007-05-26]
on this, you said it ridiculous and especially for the parents who pay for this. Shame on them all. And people are wondering what is happening with the kids now.

When sitting down to a formal dinner [2007-04-23]
which way do the dishes get passed. Clockwise or counter-clockwise around the table?

What's the difference between talking on cell and talking to person sitting across from you? [2007-03-05]
You should be ignoring people at other tables and MYOB.

I remember cat-sitting for a fellow-MT once. [2007-02-11]
She was a first-time cat owner also. They had a little Maine coon, and she claimed he didn't play. She was only a year old, so I thought that was strange. I dragged a string for her and she proceeded to show me an extremely playful side, leaping onto the couch, running across the back, leaping to a chair ... I was rolling on the floor over this supposed non-playing cat. So make sure you leave a string toy. Or do you have one of those wants with a feather on it? or the other fishing-rod style toys. My cats were crazy for those toys that required owner involvement. And forget trying to read - my cats insisted I pay attention to the game during play. Cat servant indeed.

I have a *to do list* sitting on my desk [2006-12-18]
every day because I can't remember anything and I'm early 40s. :)

Montgomery Wards [2008-11-30]
I always thought I was upscale when I went there with my g'ma. And we always got to eat at their lunch counter (sandwiches with the best potato chips) while Sitting on those high stools that were silver with red vinyl. I miss those days - and my g'ma!

agreed except for one thing [2008-11-30]
I hope the guilty are Sitting at home realizing they should take responsibility for their actions and not worry about the video and I also hope that they have enough conscience to actually feel guillty and to realize just how immoral their actions are. unfortunately, it appears people just do not have a heart anymore.

No, but I bought a few things from WP [2008-11-30]
I bought a convetion oven a year ago and it puked out this past week when I wanted to broil a london broil.I was very disappointed. Up until then, I used to make cakes and wholeBBQ chickens on the rotisseie which all were great, plus the baking/roasting things. I'm hoping I just did something wrong when but I'm afraid I might not have. I also have his SS pots and pans bought a year before that that are still Sitting in the box because I found anoter set of pots and pans that were given as a Christma giflt, so I'm using them. i will be making chicekn again this week rotiserries style so keep your finers crossed for me. Of course, the warranty ran out prior this happening.

I just need to VENT and see what you all think...Beware...this is long...sm [2008-11-30]
I have tried twice to tell this story but deleted it both times because the story is just too long so I will be as short as I can. I have a bunch of ROTTEN TO THE CORE sisters.My sisters are just about the worst people I have ever met in my whole 43 years on this planet. There is one who is especially bad and I just told my other sister that if she ever dies, to please not call me as I won I come from a very large family with 5 sisters and 1 brother with my brother being the oldest. He is not involved. He sort ofleft the family years ago because he couldn They did terrible things to him after his divorce. We rarely see him now.I am considered a scumbag and a loser because my husband and I don We don We don We can We love our children with everything in our souls. They have made fun of me and my husband and insulted us to our faces.My husband and I have a difficult marriage as he is tough to get along with so they hate my husband My sistershave all gone out to dinner without inviting me. I have found out because of someone They have made threats and sent rumors flying throughout the family, without me knowing, about calling DCYF on me. I heard that one too from a slip of the tongue. I cried for 2 hours in the shower that day. They talk about everyone and I mean everyone badly. They have awell known reputation ina couple of our towns here for being mean horrible girls. They are about as fake and phony as a person can get. Sweet and all smiles to your face and when you turn around, they stick that knife in as far as they can get it in. They have what they have in their lives because of what someone has given them. My sister had her property given to her by her in-laws. It is worth about $1,000,000. My other sister had land given to her by her husbandto lessen their mortage burden so now they owe almost nothing on their $500,000 house. They think they are fabulous people. They think they are the cat In the past years when we were all talking and I would be invited to a holiday, I was not spoken to at all the whole time I was there. I am a venter and I always have been so if my husband and I are fighting, I will always go to my older sister (one up from me) and vent and vent until I can She gets on the phone the second I leave and tells every person in my family what is going on. They in turn judge me and my husband, make their threats, and so on. This is also happening to my oldest sister and her partner (she is in a gay relationship but was always dating a man and was married twice) and my sister The three of us, me, my sister and her partner, and my sister We get along well. We are happy with each other. We don Whatever happens in each other lives, we just accept it and don I now attend holidays at my sister I don I don The sisters (I like to call them the Witches of Eastwick) all attend holidays with each other up at my sister The three of us are not invited. My older sister has a son. Several yeas ago, my sister and her partner had a terrible fight with him. He went to the witches and told them a bunch of lies and now they have pretty much shunned her and her daughter and me too because we still talk to her.I have a sister, who is involved in all of this, that I speak to on a regular basis. She is close to my kids or at least my oldest son. She pretty much ignores my other two children and they tell me, It She is the one who has spread rumors about me in the family trying to get everyone to call DCYF on me. I heard this too by a slip of the tongue from another sister a few years back. I tend to be a forgiving person so I quietly forgave her for this without her ever knowing that I knew what she was trying to do. Now that they are all inviited to the holidays up to my sister They are extremely fat just like her. These holiday trips up north are usually kept quiet and I only know about it the day before they are leaving to go, which is when she inevitably asks me to come feed her f******g cats. This is how Iknow that a big party is going on up at the cabin and once again only the chosen selected few are going. This is usually for 3 or 4 days and they get fed twice a day so I have to goto her house twice a day. Sometimes I have to give them medication and the last time she asked me, I even had to soak her sick cat She lives about 20 minutes away from me. This girl would NEVER, NEVER, EVER do this for me. My husband and I took our children on a cruise 3 years ago and we have a cat and I never asked her to do this for me as I know she would have laughed in my face. I have been feeding her cats for years now when she goes away. Keep in mind though that she was in the select chosen few to be invited up to the cabin. I was not as I am considered trash in the family. I am SICK AND TIRED of feeding this girl My sister who invites everyone to go is a mean, horrible, sadistic, vicious, backstabbing wretched b***h. No one will say anything to her like, Gee Pat, where is everyone else? Didn They could care less. All they know is that THEY were invited. Anyway, I am sorry this is so long. I cananymore. I have been thinking of this all day all weekend long. I am really to the point where I just don I am goingto tell my fat a** b***h sister to fnd another way to get her cats fed because I She is just using me and believe me when I tell you, she enjoys it. She is verydiabolical. She loves it that I am not invited and she and her husband are.She even questions me and counts the cat food cans to make sure that I came on all of the days they were gone. These people have balls of brass and I have had ENOUGH.I am just Sitting and waiting patiently for the next time she says, Oh, we Can you come and feed the cats? I just canNo. I can I will never feed your cats again! Find some other sucker to do it! I believe that they are severely narcissistic people and this is nothing to take lightly.These types of people are very destructive. Do any of you have family members like this and what do you do about them? How do you stop them from making you feelsad, lonely, excluded andless than you are or deserve? I think it is time for me to cut all ties with them. I just can

Has society become this bad and why [2008-11-29]
I saw the post down below about the Wal-Mart worker. Here is a new article that just came out (link below). The police are now looking at video surveillance to see who trampled this poor worker to death. Personally I hope they find all responsible and prosecute them to the fullest. It doesn I like their store just fine, it is what society is doing to people that nobody even bothered to stop and help this person. I grew up in the 60s/70s in a small town in New England. Maybe I'm old fashioned but my parents/grandparents taught me better than this. I just can And for what? Getting a Christimas item? This is one of many reasons why I do my Christmas shopping (what very little I do) online and gift cards. I think the traditions of the big shopping day the day after Thanksgiving should go away. I really donlove thy neighbor, not trample, bite, and spit at them so you can grab that item. (BTW - you can shop online at Walmart too). I think to myself that I thought the spirit of Christmas was supposed to celebrate Christ. Oh yeah, I'm sure he is so proud of people like those who harm others and cause death so they can get what they want. I hope those guilty are Sitting at home worrying about whether or not their face is going to show up on the video camera. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081129/D94OJ4NG0.html

This is what thanksgiving is all about...a must read [2008-11-28]
At turkey time last year, Monique White was unemployed, living in a cramped motel room and pining for the Thanksgivings of her childhood, when dozens of people would gather for a holiday feast. Today a receptionist at a dentist's office, she has a townhouse in Littleton, Colo. And, thanks to an Internet posting, a list of Thanksgiving dinner guests � strangers all � who will help her eat nine turkeys, four hams, 16 boxes of stuffing and a dozen or so pies. How did this happen? White, 36, was feeling a bit lonesome a week ago; her two sons were planning to spend the holiday with their father. And though her longtime partner, Doug White, would be there for her on Thanksgiving, she longed to be surrounded by many more people. So she posted invitations on Craigslist, the Internet classifieds site. In part, one read: Maybe you are someone who is new in town and doesn She figured four folks, maybe five would answer. But then the replies poured in: People laid off from work. People with no family. People ashamed to bring their children to a Thanksgiving dinner at a soup kitchen. I thought: There White says. In all, 32 people are expected for dinner. When White's boss heard what she was doing, he offered to pay for the food. Then a local hotel offered to provide tables and chairs. Then a professional magician said he would like to perform for the kids. Certainly a far cry from Thanksgiving 2007, White says. Last year it was just us two. It was horrible. Doug White has been busy baking turkeys, putting one in the oven as soon as another comes out. People need to stop being so worried about me, me, me, my bills, my life, he says. You stop worrying, and look what happens?

6 pumpkin pies, 2 vinegar pies and a chocolate chiffon pie sm [2008-11-27]
So now that I have caught your attention...just what is a vinegar pie, you ask. In the south, they are referred to as transparent pie. You will sometimes hear it called sweet and sour pie. It is good real cider vinegar, the kind with the mother at the bottom, brown sugar, white sugar, butter and eggs, a bit of flour. It is like water when you put in the shell. You bake it for an hour and it comes out about like the goo in a pecan pie with no nuts. It is not sour a bit, nor is it sickly sweet. It is sweet with a bit of an apple bite. The kids love it and when younger son is home for the holidays, he will devour one of them at a Sitting. He literally comes in and sees the vinegar pie, takes one and says: So...what is everyone else having? The other son won't eat pumpkin or vinegar, so he has the chocolate chiffon. The rest of us are pumpkin eaters.

boiled eggs [2008-11-27]
Once I mentioned I liked boiled eggs. Everyone was so mad at me, there were 36 Sitting in the middle of the table at dinner! Eat up!

I'm butting in here but sewing classes LOL [2008-11-26]
I took home ec in school too. Dresses were always too short in length or in sleeves. My parents sent me to Singer Sewing School for 2 years. I STILL can2 of them Sitting in storage (1 mom's, 1 DH's mom's). BTW, my mom couldn't sew either. My father used to do any sewing that was needed in the house.

men [2008-11-26]
Unless your husband saw the four potatoes Sitting on the counter and his mom said that is it for 13 people, I would have to guess that husband is exaggerating a little bit, but I still think your tray idea is a good thing just in case.

I do know that I don't need them [2008-11-25]
as friends or my life is going to end if they don I never was a peoplemagnet. If they don To each his own. My child gets along with all their kids.She really doesnshe just sees kids and that is how they view her, as a kid.The boydid not say, mom take mehome now so I can play with my Wii. He wanted to stay and play with dd and the other kids. Yes, this kid is an only child which is probably why he gets so much. I have 2. I cannot afford a Wii except on credit and I don I did consider it once, I was looking at one with dd and she was not interested at all. She wanted to go down the isle where the dolls were and the art projects were. I asked her if she even knew what that was. She said Yeah! that is a Wii. We play it in the afterschool program when it is raining outside. She just doesn She does like the board games and that game of Go Fish and Old Maid I got her. I never really knew what a Wii or an Xboxwas until 6 months ago. I knew what Playstation was. When I was a teen I thought they were annoying because of all the bleep bleep bleep.. and kids Sitting there like zombies. I never thoughtabout them again until recently and noticed that they have all advanced since I was a teen. But, I am still out of it. Someone was talking about a Guitar Hero and I thought it was a song from the 70s. It took me a while to realize that was some sort of game.

Has our country taken a turn for the ... [2008-11-21]
Our once great country, I afraid, has just turned a corner for the worse. I have watched as the mentality of our country has gone from setting your mind to something, working hard, and you can accomplish it to giving up, Sitting back, and letting somebody else take care of them. I was brought up, as many were, with a good work ethic that was instilled in us by our parents. With the idea that if you want something you had to work for it, and by working for something you learned quickly the difference between wants and needs. There were always incentives for a person to strive to better themselves. Whether it were financial incentives, or just the pride you gained in knowing that you did something yourself, it didn�t matter. I wasn�t long ago that people had that �small town� mentality, and everybody knew their neighbors. And those neighbors helped each other out, in any situation, it was just what you did. And people were so proud that some times help would have to be disguised, you remember the lines like..�Mom made more stew than we could eat, could you help us out by taking it so that it doesn�t go to waste?� But, somewhere along the line those thoughts of some (I guess now the majority) have changed. Some how, if somebody works hard to gain something others feel entitled to have the same things, even if they didn�t have to go through the struggle to earn it. Some how, things like big screen TVs, cell phones, and shiny new cars have wrongly slipped from the �wants� list to the �needs� list. Somewhere the incentives to strive for betterment have been replaced by incentives to be lazy. The easy way out and hand outs are now the norm. The feeling of pride about being self sufficient is supposed to be replaced by guilt for having more than others. The �small town� mentality is gone and our neighbors have turned into strangers. People no longer help out their neighbors or even themselves, instead they sit and wait for the government to come solve things for them. And when help does come they complain that the help wasn�t good enough or didn�t come fast enough, the pride is gone. Well, I refuse to think that way, my small town roots and work ethic runs to deep. I refuse to let somebody take care of me while I am willing and able to take care of myself. I will continue to meet and know my neighbors and help them out when they need it. I will continue to work hard to take care of my needs and by doing so, my wants will take care of themselves. I will continue to volunteer for things and give to charities of my choice regardless of what the government wants to take away from me and give to the undeserving. My hope is to change the thinking back to the way it was. The sun will rise again tomorrow, I�ll keep doing what I do, and this country can be great again�.at least in my little corner of it�

Here's my problem....sm [2008-11-21]
My dad is irresponsible and is in financial debt and doom. There is no way he can make the money to pay the bills he has accumulated. He has borrowed money he shouldnt have. Well the situation is... He has been knowing if he didn He refused to pay it. Every time he would get acheck he wouldn Well he kept not paying it for 2 months. Well yesterday they turned them out. It is freezing here. It is going to be in the 20s tonight. He said I don Well he was told and told to pay it and wouldn So now what does he do? As soon as he gets off work he comes to my house cause he don I can So I can He also said he had no money for food because he had to use it all for diesal for his dump truck. So I offered him food too. He also rumages through my cabinets for snacks. I feel like I am the parent and he is the child. My husband drives a big truck and he has been gone. When I tell him what is going on he gets aggravated because he is Sitting at our house and all. He said he is a grown man and needs to step up and take care of himself but he is my dad and I can My husband will be home either late tonight or first thing in the morning and this is not going to go over too well with him. I am at a loss.

He is 60 years old...sm [2008-11-21]
And acts like he is 2. He doesnI am not his babysitter. He is a grown man and he needs to act like it. Social service doesn't need to help him. The man makes decent money. He just won't take responsibity to pay his bills and has too many at that. He needs to thin them out. For instance, he has 2 new model trucks. He does not need 2 trucks but he WANTS both of them. But a light bill is one of your most important bills. And I for a fact know he had the money to pay it and didn't. I even told him you better go pay that electric bill. He wouldn't. I have never seen anyone who was quite like him. I love my dad and don't want to hurt him but he is making things very hard for me right now. I can't babysit him anymore. He is more than welcome to come visit me as often as he wants. He can come by everyday if he wants. But then there is a time to leave and go home. I have a family and I know I wouldnt like it if my husbands dad did this. I would not be happy at all. I am not happy about my father doing it but what do you do? Tell him get out?

We did something similar [2008-11-20]
but it was a local theater gift card instead of the netflix. I didn't know netflix did such a thing. That's a great idea. A smore's kit is nice to make or homemade marshmellows (they are not that difficult to make as most people think) with homemade hot chocolate mix and some cute mugs. Also made fleece throws for everyone for xmas one year. YOu can get the no-sew fleece and just cut a fringe around the edge to finish it. Offer up a free baby Sitting night to the parents, all you need is a card. Tuck it in the tree with their name on it. If there is something special that you make that someone likes you can make up a basket with many of the ingredients and include the recipe card. If it is cookies or something nonperishable you can include a finished version in the basket.

The people across the street from [2008-11-18]
have pumpkins Sitting on their front porch as well as their outdoor Chirstmas lights up. They don't turn them on, but they are defenitiely up.

Slightly different perspective. [2008-11-13]
So maybe I shouldn't post about this since I have not exactly been in your shoes but I think possibly I can lend a help perspective. I lost my father to cancer when I was 19. My FIL is an alcoholic. No I didn't grow up in a divorced family or without a father through my childhood and no I haven't experienced my father being an alcoholic. What I feel I can tell you is there is such a thing as being too late to say the things you wanted to say, good or bad. If it does come to that, you will never let it go. He is still your father regardless of the choices he has made in his life. You only have 1 father. After seeing my FIL, I believe alcoholism is an illness. Sure people can fight it and get help if they wan, but it takes a very, very strong person to overcome it and it is a constant battle. From the sounds of your post it seems as though you have some things you need to get off of your chest. Whether that means Sitting down and talking to him or putting the past in the past and moving on with any kind of relationship - I think only you can figure that out. Even a relationship that is only on holidays and important events is still a relationship. Who knows, maybe talking to your mom would help her as much as it might help you. It certainly can't be a short conversation, it needs to be thorough to get through the surface feelings and to the nitty gritty. Maybe, just maybe, your mom could shed some light for you on why she has been able to forget the past to a certain extent and move on. If nothing else, this might make you and your mom even closer and it sounds like no one else (professional or otherwise) would understand better than her. With my FIL, we do not stay when he is drunk or starts drinking. The entire family knows we pack up and leave, regardless of the situation. It hurts his feelings sometimes I can tell, but he knows the circumstances and we have small children that we will not subject to that. It was difficult at first but over the years it is just the way it is and no one says a word anymore and respects where we are coming from.

Pumba. Reminds of Lion King. LOL...sm [2008-11-12]
She is a pretty kitty and Sitting under the tree like she is a gift for someone. lol

i dont care [2008-11-10]
I hate that now in GA it is state law that they have to have it at age 13. You know statistically girls have already had sex by that age, which is VERY SAD. First they said only girls that have not been sexually active and now it is for any girl who wants it. Very confusing. I am just so sick about the government stepping in on this. If my daughters and I feel that they need to have it, then it should be up to us, not some fat guy Sitting in an office saying it is better for us. I think more studies should have been done before they made ita law. That is all. Other then that I feel that it is like any other shot... some people dont get flu shots every year... are flu shots bad? Can they make you sick, yes sometimes, but people should not be forced into a flu shot!

I have had the pleasure... [2008-11-09]
....of working in several nursing homes as a CNA and nurse before coming to medical transcription. It's hard work and usually staffing is sometimes paltry, even in the good homes, but we really do care. Really. Every place has bad eggs, the hospitals, home care, etc., but everyone usually has to have some sort of heart to work in a nursing home. First things first...I always would check for jobs with this litmus test, and I recommend anyone do this. This is a make or break kind of ordeal. You look for the state inspection report. It HAS to be placed in a prominent place in the facility. If you cannot find it readily, ask where it is. If there is anything going on with hiding these documents, you leave and never come back. The other thing is to smell for stale urine or strong air fresheners. If you smell either of those, leave. (Do not check for BM smell--the smell often radiates and may be new, for lack of a better term.) Look at the residents. Do many of them seem content? Do you see aides with gait belts around their waists? Do the nurses look terribly stressed? Please also do not judge by tones of voices in the direct care staff. Often the staff must talk very directly, succintly, and abruptly--it sometimes comes off as harsh, but it's not--for particular residents to hear and/or understand. If you go in a facility in the evening, often the place is chaotic, particularly if there are demented residents. There is a condition known as sundowning that is very, very real. The ones with dementia who are sundowning may give the impression that care is not being given due to the chaos and behaviors brought by the condition. It's not the case. Usually these residents are kept in common areas until they are calm enough to retire for the night. If you go in the nighttime, often there is one night nurse for about 65ish residents. If you are so inclined to come in at this time and do not see anyone at the nurse's station for some time, know that the nurse may be tending to a medical issue and the CNAs are tending to personal care of the residents. If you ever see nurses eating a sandwich in one hand and writing in another hand while Sitting at the nurse's station, this is sometimes the only break he or she gets. It's not out of disrespect that this is done. It is so that nurse can care for the residents as best as he or she can. What you are describing in your original post, unfortunately, is quite common, from what I have seen. Two people who are married a long time will often pass not too far apart. It seems people often do decide when they will go. As a nurse, it's one of the more incredible things I've seen. When I saw it happen, I always had the sense there is an extremely strong bond between the spouses that absolutely nothing could break. I'm not trying to say anything is amiss with your mother. I'm not. It doesn't always happen that way. I hope I don't come off that way. I'm sorry you are going through this, because no one wants to send a loved one to the nursing home, yet caring for an ailing parent is one of the most stressful things anyone can experience. I have never been in your position, so I hope I don't come off as too forward, rude, or presumptuous, but I wanted to tell you a little more about what you may be getting into. If you live in Iowa, I'd recommend you to a great one that has the best nurse I've ever met working there now. He has cooked up oyster soup in our kitchen when a resident stopped eating because the resident loved oyster soup. He has taken residents fishing for the heck of it. He wears a scrub shirt with chickens on it because many of our residents were farmers and like the shirt (and because my husband has a silly sense of humor and a wife with a sewing machine). I've known CNAs who buy (with their own money) residents pop and even steak just because the resident wanted it and could have it. Shoot, lots of us do it, even when we don't have a lot of money to our names. I loved to sing with the residents that had dementia (music seems to be retained) and chat about life with the residents who had their faculties. I promise it's not all doom and gloom. Sure, nursing homes could do better, but if you find the right one, it may just work out. All my best to you and your mother.

How about regular old-fashioned wax furniture polish? sm [2008-10-31]
Beware, Kitty might skid on that towel and dig in with her claws to steady herself. It's very nice of you to be kitty Sitting!

Weird food combinations. [2008-10-30]
Sitting here letting my mind wonder, thinking about family, etc, and starting thinking about food (of course) and weird combinations. My grandfather liked mashed potatoes on top of his chocolate cake. My sister-in-law likes to dip her potato chips in whipped cream. Chocolate and ice cold beer....the best! Anyone else have any?

I was at JFK stadium back in 1980 [2008-10-30]
In fact, I went to the 6th game of the WS and saw it happened from the last row of a 700-level section at the vet. I went with some guy from my econ class at Temple. I was a freshman and he was not a baseball fan. LOL. In 1980, the parade took place the very next day after the game. Professors told us that they were not cancelling class and that we were expected to show. Right. I lived at 18th and Snyder back then, so I was Sitting down in JFK by 9:00 a.m., waiting for the parade to arrive. I had the time of my life. What's really cool is that my youngest son is now a freshman at Temple, and he was told the same thing. Classes are not cancelled, and he is expected to be there. I told him to go to the parade. No one will be in class, and who knows how long he'll have to wait to see this again. Wow, the Phillies win the World Series. I think I feel the earth shifting on its axis!

My only advice is [2008-10-29]
Go to the store (Staples or Office Depot or wherever) and try them out. Even some of the expensive ones are surprisingly UNcomfortable. Also, don't expect one to last forever. We spend way too much time Sitting at our desks for that.

Pros and cons [2008-10-23]
It would probably be about half that to do it yourself, but time is money. The only thing I would warn you about and be prepared for is that SS and other professional carpet cleaners, no matter what the quote is, will try to sell you 'extras.' Just be prepared to say no if you don't think you need what they are offering. I think the do-it-yourself is just as effective and I actually like doing it (a break from Sitting on my bum all day LOL), but again, time is money.