If gentle isn't working, can you work in a bit more stern? Or will that just end up messy?

Stern works as most parents know, but it extracts a high cost on all sides. Kids get angry, and anger interferes with learning, so homework may get done but the lesson probably won't. Stern wears away at the child's self-esteem, and that's also bad. And for me, stern eats away at my soul and my happiness and my sense of self-worth and I am sick and tired of the fact that the price of their schoolwork is my soul.

It is ridiculously impossible to tell the USPS or Amazon that a delivery address is correct. To send an e-mail form to USPS about a tracked package requires the address of the sender, and nothing on Amazon tells the address something was sent from. Also, the damn tracking number should tell them all that. I finally put in a random Amazon address and then got a message that USPS is not accepting e-mails at this time. I left a message with my local PO. We'll see.

My poor best friend inherited her brother's children, who are busily ruining their lives. She occasionally moans, "There's a reason I didn't have children."

Sophia, mail it to me and I'll do it! I already did mine, maybe we'll find out we're cousins!

profile email is good.

How come you can't mail it to them from New York, but you can mail it to me? That's weird.

How come you can't mail it to them from New York, but you can mail it to me? That's weird.

What she said. ::befuddled::

I guess they throw out the ones from ny- it isn't against regulations for the spit to be mailed in NY, but for them to do the analysis on spit that is spit in NY. In NY you aren't supposed to self collect- a doctor is supposed to. So I understand if you are uncomfortable mailing.

No, I'll mail it, the worst that'll happen is they'll throw it out anyway. Which is dumb... but okay, New York, whatever. It's illegal for a person to pump their own gasoline in New Jersey, because OMG dangerous, so who knows, maybe spit is explosive in New York.

I guess they throw out the ones from ny- it isn't against regulations for the spit to be mailed in NY, but for them to do the analysis on spit that is spit in NY. In NY you aren't supposed to self collect- a doctor is supposed to. So I understand if you are uncomfortable mailing.

Ugh, okay, my entire post basically boils down to "parenting is hard" which may be true, but I should probably shut up about it. Complaining isn't helping.

When Molly Ringwald was on This American Life talking about parenting, she said she doesn't fight about homework with her daughter anymore.... because she stopped dealing with her daughter's homework, and turned it over to her husband.

I have been having massive guilt about saddling Mac with just a single parent and one who is shite with patience, but you know internalized guilt will be what I work on in therapy when he goes to college or moves out. I can only feel so bad each day. Shoving stuff away until later seems like the good repressed historically Protestant thing to do.

"That's why we don't have kids," he said. "Because I don't want to visit you in jail on Sundays."

I love you two so much.

I have decided that I'll do my best to work only one way on the shuttle, probably in the AM. On my way home, I will watch something, listen to a podcast, or read a book

Good! I am in favor of only working while actually at work, but I know that's not realistic for everyone (even me, really).

Emotional support through, um, no actual physical contact but virtual light physical contact is intended, Burrell. i think going with what doesn't kill your soul and make your kids miserable is good, and if that means they don't get the bets posssible grades or learn absolutely everything, that is okay.

But I am not a parent.