Aw, damn it. That's a funny typo!

My spouse eats meat and doesn't drink, except the occasional ice cream drink variety, or even rarer beer. It is kinda handy to have the designated drier in the family. (love the typo) I've cooked varied meals for our dietary needs for decades and it is no biggee.

Everyone has seen The Breakfast Club as many times as I have, right??

So many times. What is more amusing is that my 18yo has likely watched it more times than me. I think he has it memorized.

With the big 60 just around the corner this is about the first time that my life is resembling what I expected or anticipated. It has been decade after decade of just going with the flow since the plans never worked out as planned.

It isn't so much middle age crazy; I might even be past that! It is more like feeling an actual ability to create my life the way I want rather than being driven by outside forces.

I think I hit the jackpot with parents. My mother has always made me feel that the only thing she wanted was our happiness. No doubt she worries about all of us and might have wanted us to make different choices at times, but she has never once made us feel bad or guilty about our choices. Literally the only thing I have ever heard her bug any of us about was smoking. But since our dad died of lung cancer I get that one.

When I called my father at age 86 to tell him he had twin grandsons on the way his response was "You're cutting it kind of close, aren't you?"

Hah! That's funny, Rick. (How old are those twins now? I swear children of people on the internet grow up EXTRA FAST)

I rarely drink--definitely didn't get those genes from the family, since I'm not even a big fan of the taste of alcohol. But I would have a hard time dating someone who wouldn't drink as in "doesn't like being in a bar"--I know there are many people like that, but I like hanging out with friends, and dancing, and music...and those happen in bars. I'm fine drinking club soda if I don't want to drink, but I don't want to NOT GO because people will be drinking!

I somehow escaped becoming a smoker, too--my parents both did back in the day, and my sister and brother both do. I'm glad, I know I'd have a hard time quitting.

I never really wanted children, because I come from a long line of crazy. My main regret is that we have some cool family stuff and no one who would appreciate owning it.

There's nothing quite like a cancer diagnosis to make one dwell how life did not turn out the way one planned.

I'm having a very hard time being in my 50s. So many things I thought I'd have gotten to do. So many things I'm convinced I'll never have the time/resources/health to do. Reassurances are dismissed by my hindbrain as Pollyanna fluff. I hate my brain for saying, "You know, your friends--if you still have any--are only going to throw that out when you're dead in 20 years, so why bother?"

I still don't want kids, and I enjoy having a sibling who procreated because now nobody cares as much that I am single and childless.

I'm starting my new role on Thursday. Still have no idea what I'm doing! I have some anxiety about that, but I'm trying not to freak out about it too much. Of course, I also seem to have a sinus infection that's making me mildly miserable, so right now I'm just drinking a lot of herbal tea and making a lot of last minute decisions before we turn off the lights on my old product this Wednesday.

I've made it 10 months without smoking! My dad keeps trying to quit and recently went back to it again. I'm pretty sure I'm done since I can't handle the smell now. One bad habit broken. Now I just need to figure out how to get more sleep and eat less.

msbelle, I'm glad that G feels like he has enough Chosen Family to celebrate.

Today is the last day of this bout of PD and tomorrow Grace has surgery. I am tired thinking about the fact that I have to go back to work in two weeks. Too exhausting to contemplate.

Wow! Good for you, shrift! I think they are upping the price by a dollar here, which means I should really quit this time, but I don't wanna.

That's awesome, shrift. I need to quit, too. Jesse, maybe we should quit together?

But not quite yet.

Me three.