Is there a polite way to respond, "Nonsense. The assignment might be beyond your abilities, but they are certainly within hers. If you can't help, at least don't slow her down."?

Geez, it's been a rough day!

Healthy colon~ma to Kathy's uncle Ray.

Job~ma to ChiKat.

Health~ma to Calli's dad.

{{{Kristin}}}

ma~~~to uncle Ray

I need some ~ma and it seems selfish to ask, but I need to sleep for a variety of reasons I haven't been. I'm stressed and frazzled right now and I do understand a lot of it (go team self awareness!). First there's the aforementioned lack of sleep (I didn't get to sleep Saturday until 4 am Sunday morning, then my nap was derailed,a nd then I destroyed my headset, etc and so on).

Plus there's the babysitting of my nephew, who is so adorable and I love. I didn't go over there this weekend since I'm all snappy and grumpy for major lack of sleep. But I'm not doing well at all. It's been get up, leave work, lunch with Mom and nephew, go to her place after work, get home between 7:00-8:00 most nights.

And I'm just.. I don't do well with my routine messed with and I don't do well on a lack of sleep so right now... I'm not doing well. Or at least I'm trying.

Dogs on retractable leashes tend to come with owners on cell phones.

Retractable leashes are of the devil.

I use a retractable leash. I do not use a cell while using it.

I guess I am really the devil in disguise. Man, y'all can be a judgmental posse. Any of you have met Chile and thinks she has behavior problems? Yeah. Didn't think so. She NEVER goes up to kids, as she has no interest in little people and will actively avoid them when possible.

I used a retractable leash with Mac. But it was always locked. I mostly used it because I couldn't let her run loose in the city (there were no nearby dog parks). So when we got to an empty field, she could at least get a run going.

When we bought the house the local ordinance for dog leashes specified no more than 6', so the retractable leashes were a nono.

In general, I am just really annoyed at generalizations.

Java, are there any exceptions to that rule?

In general, I am just really annoyed at generalizations.

I generally agree. (winky emoticon)

I desperately want a retractable leash for the dalmatian, because I'm too slow for her, and when we're not near people/other dogs, I could let it spool out so she could motor a little bit (and then yank my arm out of its socket when she reaches the end [she's completely unaware of her surroundings or the human on the other end of the leash; she is the Ferdinand the Bull of dogs]).

In general, I am confused by people that walk while talking on the cell phone. (pacing on the sidewalk doesn't quite count) You can't be paying attention to your surroundings. No way to know if a car, mugger, bike, or dog is coming up behind you. and often in front of you