Kaylee: H-how did you... g-get on...? Early: Strains the mind a bit, don't it? You think you're all alone. Maybe I come down the chimney, Kaylee. Bring presents to the good girls and boys.

'Objects In Space'


Spike's Bitches 45: That sure as hell wasn't in the brochure.  

[NAFDA] Spike-centric discussion. Lusty, lewd (only occasionally crude), risqué (and frisqué), bawdy (Oh, lawdy!), flirty ('cuz we're purty), raunchy talk inside. Caveat lector.


Cass - Dec 26, 2009 8:02:36 pm PST #4975 of 30000
Bob's learned to live with tragedy, but he knows that this tragedy is one that won't ever leave him or get better.

Hmmm. I under-potatoed my scalloped potatoes. It is now a particularly rich and cheesy potato soup. This could still be a win...

Glad you saved it, but yowza does the under-potatoed, generously scalloped potatoes sound amazing.

my brother in law never married his son's mother and they split when he was 3. They, too, worked out a 50/50 split. He put A LOT of work into it--including keeping his job prospects well within the area, and bending over backwards in giving his ex their house (he paid for it, she didn't work) and the better vehicle. He paid her more than an official custody arrangement would have required for support payments and carried all insurance and medical costs. I think the generous financial arrangements helped smooth the way but my nephew is nearly 7 and is EXTREMELY well adjusted, having spent more than half his life shuttling between households.

Where I lived changed over the years, as did the amount of time I lived with each parent, but the fact that both my parents loved me and never took out any anger on each other in ways that could affect me is something I am entirely grateful to have grown up knowing. That is still priceless to me.

My heart breaks when parents take out their issues on their kids. (Hi, just got back from Christmas and I am glad I know a lot of amazing parents because seeing the bad ones is awful and I need a mental cleanser.)


DavidS - Dec 26, 2009 8:22:09 pm PST #4976 of 30000
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

Glad you saved it, but yowza does the under-potatoed, generously scalloped potatoes sound amazing.

Right? Baked soup can be good. Uh, so uhm, make this recipe with less potatoes and more milk and you'll be good.

but the fact that both my parents loved me and never took out any anger on each other in ways that could affect me is something I am entirely grateful to have grown up knowing. That is still priceless to me.

That is the trick. People compliment EM and I for having such a good working relationship, but I am always quick to say that it required a lot of work. That it wasn't an accident of easy good will but an effortful prioritizing of Emmett's well being.

Not to claim credit for us, but to say that it requires putting aside your ego and loving your child more than your righteous anger.


Typo Boy - Dec 26, 2009 8:31:20 pm PST #4977 of 30000
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.

Though it does seem that both you and JZ have managed to be friends with EM, not just put anger aside but actually forgiven and become friends. I'm sure it took a lot of work, but it is something not everyone could have done regardless of how hard they worked. It says something about both you and JZ as people.


WindSparrow - Dec 26, 2009 8:35:23 pm PST #4978 of 30000
Love is stronger than death and harder than sorrow. Those who practice it are fierce like the light of stars traveling eons to pierce the night.

Not to claim credit for us, but to say that it requires putting aside your ego and loving your child more than your righteous anger.

The fact that so many prefer to put the anger first says something about those who put their child(ren) first.


beekaytee - Dec 26, 2009 8:41:31 pm PST #4979 of 30000
Compassionately intolerant

The fact that so many prefer to put the anger first says something about those who put their child(ren) first.

So much this.

One of my clients has chosen to deal with custody issues as a 'business-like teamwork' situation. The child is all that matters. This seems infinitely more practical and sustainable than putting the anger first.


DavidS - Dec 26, 2009 8:49:06 pm PST #4980 of 30000
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

Nobody thinks they're putting anger first. If you presented the choice to them like that they'd all deny it. But it's hard to let go of the feeling of being wronged.

As the wise amych once taught me, any time you act (react?) out of a wounded sense of ego it's likely the wrong impulse. The trick is to catch yourself in that moment. Not easy in the flush of feeling.

ION, Big Ass Thunder Storm in SF. Which is unusual here.


beth b - Dec 26, 2009 9:33:37 pm PST #4981 of 30000
oh joy! Oh Rapture ! I have a brain!

Pouring here.

and I just found out one of my 16 yr old library volunteers ( girl) disappeared last night


WindSparrow - Dec 26, 2009 9:38:20 pm PST #4982 of 30000
Love is stronger than death and harder than sorrow. Those who practice it are fierce like the light of stars traveling eons to pierce the night.

Oh, gosh, beth, how scary. Safety~ma for her.


DCJensen - Dec 27, 2009 4:39:13 am PST #4983 of 30000
All is well that ends in pizza.

Indeed. I hope she's just out being 16-years-old, and not... other.

Not other~Ma, too.


Calli - Dec 27, 2009 4:42:16 am PST #4984 of 30000
I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul—Calvin and Hobbs

Goodness, beth, I hope she's ok.

I just had 9 hours of sleep in my own bed, after several nights trying to sleep on a blow-up mattress in my niece's room. She's always wonderfully gracious about sharing her space, but it's great to be back to my pillow-top queen-size mattress, with bonus knee-warming cat.