I go the gum that kills the taste of sugar. You can find it on Amazon. It really works. There are also sprays and lozenges.

I love 11-7! 3-11 sucks.

You don’t know that. Unless you have first-hand knowledge about this person and their struggle, you are reading into it.

Sounds like a book launch that OP’s mom wrote or is enthused about.

You sound like a real sweet person. You care about other people and I hope you never give up. And you have worth. Don’t forget that what you have experienced, has given you an inside look at things that other people struggle with. I can read about addiction, you can tell me your experiences, but I can’t know what you know. This makes your experience valuable. I saw a sign once at an addiction recovery center. It read “ God uses broken people like you and me, to rescue broken people like you and me.” Maybe you can continue to recover with a goal of developing your experience into a marketable skill.

Night shift rocks!

My dad recently passed. I’ve told him for decades that whatever he wants he needs to prearrange and prepay and let me know. That if he does I’ll make sure he gets it as he wants. HOWEVER, that if he does not do this, then I’ll get him exactly what I want for myself which is whatever is the cheapest cremation, no viewing, funeral, burial etc. The bill came to $927.

Do you know at what point in the day you stop feeling that sense of dread? When does the day begin to feel doable? Also, what do you do at night that you enjoy?

“That sounds rough. Maybe you would benefit from talking to a professional.” That’s what I say to venting acquaintances and strangers most of the time..

Food is always welcome! I worked L&D for 3 years and flowers were nice but we really got excited when people gave us cakes or brownies, or cookies!

Good advice! When my mom’s cat of nearly 18 years passed away, my mom had her freeze-dried/dehydrated and now she sits on a pillow in the house and my mom pets her throughout the day. I think that was close to $1200.

We go to school to get the dream jobs. If you can get one without school, do it! Take the job now. School will always be around. I have a masters degree. However, if I’d ever had any marketable skills I’d have never gone back to school.

No way, they are actually asking, would you do something that makes you uncomfortable so that this relative whom you don’t know very well can be more comfortable. I mean, we could all chip in and get him a hotel but then that would require something from us. We want you to take this on alone. Many people think that we should do unreasonable things for “family”. Unreasonable for anyone is still unreasonable. They should never have put OP in that position. Asking for an unreasonable favor is their bad. OP saying no is reasonable. Why can’t this guy stay in a hotel or the airport like other travelers do all the time?

Seriously, just say no. Tell the, you changed your mind and are simply uncomfortable with the idea of someone in your house when you’re away. If they understand, you’ll feel good about your decision, if they get mad, then you’ll know you made the right decision.

This is a good time to start saying no. Tell them you felt pressured and obligated to say yes but you really are not comfortable with it. He can spend 5 hours at the airport- I’ve done it many times, or they can chip in to rent him a hotel. If you say yes, then, them imposing on you could become a regular thing.

Actually, orange juice is ideal for this!

Absolutely! Don’t call your parents the minute you have a problem. Seek advice from “seasoned” adults and/or professionals who have, most likely, encountered that problem before. Narrow down some good options and then tell your parents the problem you’re dealing with, and the options you’re considering. For example, if you realize you lost your credit card and you call mom in a frantic state, you’re basically dropping that problem on her. Or, you call and tell her you lost your credit card so you called the bank, and found out there were 2 fraudulent charges so they reversed them, cancelled that card and are reissuing you another. Now you’ve told her about the problem but showed you’re capable of handling it, effectively, yourself. * Also, by “seasoned” adult, I mean, not a twenty something. Ask an older person or someone in the business. Don’t ask someone with years and experience </= your own.

If you are uncomfortable and don’t want to go too deep, maybe try to ask questions with concrete answers like, “When did they die?”, or “What made you think of them”? If you don’t mind and want to delve deeper, ask how they died, how they are dealing with it, etc.

Won’t the aspirin look like a big chunk of dandruff in your hair?

Stop doing that. Boundaries are key. Good fences make good neighbors.

Go to the Bureau of Labor statistics website, BLS.gov. They have a lot of good information regarding career exploration. Also, most community college websites have career services and offer free online assessments that can guide you into a career. Normally, the only careers we consider are the ones we know about from parents or other relatives, or the ones we encounter most often. There are many we don’t encounter, literally tens of thousands of careers that we don’t know about. The BLS.gov assessments can help with interest inventories, and offer suggestions based on your results. You can look into them and maybe save a lot of money and time. I’d suggest you start there. Community colleges are really good yet often overlooked resources.

Vlasic brand is the best!

Get her a service dog vest and you’re all set for cold and allergy season!

Shhhh, can’t you see he is praying?

There can be many reasons a person my not reply. Is it just one person or do you notice that many people take a long time or never respond to your messages?