Is there a way to split some of your time waiting, Connie? One person can go take a walk or whatever gets you in separate corners for a while?

She has a right to be there but that doesn't mean you have to bond when you seem to expect it to go really badly.

Hell, my Stepmom and I battled when Dad first got sick. And I love her. She loves me. She's been my Dad's partner since I was four six. It was still a fraught situation because we were both just scared to death of losing him.

Connie, I like the idea of royalties.

Sweet weeping Moses. The rose killer is in the yard at 1:30am.

Now, she's hacked them all to the ground. I can't even.

I offered to tell my landlord the perpetrator's name...since she did not do the honorable thing herself. To his uncharacteristic credit, he passed. "What's done is done."

This was, of course, before the entire lot was denuded.

what the WHAT? I mean, sure, roses can tolerate a good amount of well-intentioned but poorly executed pruning, but there's gotta be SOMETHING left. Killing other people's plants is not OK. Especially roses, they are so lovely when in bloom, thorns or no.

eta: oh wait, she's crazy. Son probably talked to her in the "wrong" way which ratcheted her up to make things worse. OMG.

Maybe, though the son kind of knows better than to talk to her about anything serious.

I can also point out that neither the son or the husband is helping her in the middle of the freaking night.

When we talked this afternoon, she said, "I'll make it all go away." I guess that is what she has done.

bonny, I wish a had an advice. Both sides seem to have way too much attitude and opinions on what Should Be Done and ignoring your wishes and what you're willing to do. I'm sorry, it sucks.

Connie, as smart buffistas said, you're absolutely not being a bitch. And it's a good idea, thinking how to spend minimal time with each other as possible. Prevention technique, sure, but you really don't have to deal with more Issues right now.

Connie, I'm sorry for all the grief. Vent here - say all the awful things you think, all the terrible things that you can't let out in person. Pour it out here and maybe it'll make it easier to deal with his daughter. Delete later if you want to, but at least use the board to release whatever tension would lead to something unforgiveable in person.

Connie, adding my voice to the "not a bitch" crowd. If I may make a suggestion -- this is about your husband. Daughter is secondary, and anything that she is going through is secondary to what your husband is going through. And if she needs rough treatment (the verbal equivalent of a slap in the face) to see that, so be it.

I think I figured out why my thyroid medication is making me sick. There is lactose in it. So, I have been taking a pill with lactose first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. No wonder I have felt so awful. It looks like there are alternatives without lactose. Hopefully my doctor will be able to prescribe one of them.

Final chapter on the rose saga...All four plants are totally chopped down.

There were two 4 foot high mounds of thorns but someone came by in a truck and took them away.

I made a joke to my landlord about getting free yard care. It was too soon.

Still, it's over and my landlord is waffling on finding out who it was. He, rightfully, is concerned about further shenanigans.

I'm moving on.

Oh wow, that's surprising it'd have that in it, sj! But very good catch!

Ugh, I went to the doctor this morning and mostly it was very good--it was a new doctor, as my old one left, and luckily, she seemed really awesome, so that's good. (Once I went there and took any old doctor because I was sick and needed an appointment, and I really disliked her). But then they were taking a whole bunch of blood, and the phlebotomist looked at both my arms, looked some more, kept poking with her finger, signed a lot, and finally I offered my hands. She did some more looking/poking/sighing, got a hot pad for my hand and started to draw from there (ow!)...and then it ran dry halfway through, so she got someone else, who stuck my arm, and then THAT ran dry! They only got a few drops in the last tube, so they may not be able to do some of it, but now I'm scared to go back. :)