I can't believe that I'm still going to be here for almost two more weeks! The weather is perfect, there is much to see, the food and wine are wonderful, the house has a hot tub, wish you all were here!

Ah the envy! It's giving me a head rush! Although seriously I am so happy for you that you get to have this spectacular vacation.

Tangential question:

Ok, when Willow sucked the words out of the books onto her skin -- how hard would it be to re-create something like that, for hands and forearms, for a costume?

If anyone I know knows, it will be someone in Bitches.

God, my mother. I am often amazed she didn't eat us when we were babies.

My bro and SiL are coming in town this weekend, just for the weekend b/c some members of SiL's family are pretty sick and they want to see them.

When I talked to my bro yesterday, he mentioned that on Friday night, Mom and stepdad were going to take him and SiL out for Indian, and invited me and Tim along.

So I mention it to mom, and she says no, it's only Jeff, no SiL, and I'm not invited because "sometimes I just don't want to focus on both of my children."

That right there sums up her entire ethos of parenting.

Well, no. That's not fair. It's more like "I just don't want to focus on either of my children."

Honestly, I understand that she doesn't get to see him a lot, and wants to spend time with him. I get that. But (1) she really could have worded it a little better, and (2) *I* don't get to see him a lot, either, and I would like to see him. I'm just not picky about hoarding the bro. Oh, also (3) she was in Vermont in August for a week. So she damn well got to spend time with him.

The fear that I would be like my mom is an enormous part of why I don't want to have kids. Seriously.

Oy, Steph.

Well, the exam situation seems to have been resolved. Sort of. I'll see how well this actually works -- it's trusting six undergrads with a lot of responsibility, with pretty much no instructions for what they're supposed to do.

Tep, in what I'm about to say I want to be clear that I'm not pressuring you to be a parent. Not only is it your right, but you are the best judge of what would or would not make you happy.

But if you got stuck with the job, you are way too good a person to act in some of the ways you fear. Again this is not me arguing about your decision. This is me objecting to you failing to sufficiently respect a person I'm fond of.

I'm with Typo on this, Steph.

At the same time, I am you in the being glad I am not a parent category.

I love kids. I favorably influence the lives of kids pretty much every day. I am so glad I am not inflicting my issues on kids.

Just giving out balloons last weekend was a chore in self-control. Not that the kids were wrong in their behavior, per se. It just took way too much of my grit to be nice about it.

Not full-time parenting material.

Yeah also not parenting material.

Erin, there's temporary tattoo transfer paper: [link]

I don't see any signs that you're taking after your mother, Teppy, and thank god for that. That's appalling.

I don't see any signs that you're taking after your mother, Teppy

I think with kids it would be a whole different ballgame. I'm more or less okay in how I interact with people now (although, truly, I have a lot of her more narcissistic qualities; despite how much I try to hide it, I do tend to make things All About Me at every possible opportunity), but I think with children it would be vastly, vastly different.

I mean, thank you all for what you've said -- that's very kind. But I know myself, and I know what lives under my metaphorical bed.