Tuesday, July 1

Liz, I've decided this / that was it. I think your "It depends" response about future consulting with your company is absolutely smart. If I remember correctly, you're about ten years younger than me, and you may find you want or even need that kind of stimulation again.

Also, given your hubby's dementia, your caregiver responsibilities will surely increase in the next few years, and you may find you need to pay for more caregiver support. A lot of factors could come into play that you'll need to evaluate.

I'll tell you one thing that WILL happen: When you leave that job, they will miss you terribly. And they will want your help again. It's such a common trend in today's workplace. Employers really do miss boomers when they retire.

But they don't think they really will miss us. A lot of job analysis is being done by spreadsheet these days without much further discussion.

Friday, there was horrifying news that my high school class president / the friendliest / kindest/ all-around great guy / and his wife committed suicide leaving notes that they could not face their financial situation. Of course there is a lot more to the story, but it doesn't matter, the ending remains the same. Tragic.

Anyway, my thoughts have been consumed by this, so reading Devon's post about regain and how we view our own success makes me wish that this couple could have seen their success and conceived an alternate plan.

Joey this is so sad. I have had more experience with suicides than I wish, including a nephew. No one should have to go through this. My sympathies. Diane S

What horrible news, Joey. I'm so sorry for them and all those who loved them.

Wow - that's a shocker isn't it? My former neighbor's son committed suicide at 21. He was the absolute LAST person you would think would do that as he seemed so laid back. He was my son's age and all the neighborhood kids were really close so we were all shaken up about it (and still are 6 years later).

Greetings Powerful People

Up to 137 today. No doubt its the salty mexican food we had last night plus lack of exercise. Must change that.

Dave sorry your old dog is not doing well. Its never easy. Good dogs just don't last long enough. But I am glad you are busy with the pharmacy remodeling and having fun at it. Its so satisfying to do something with your hands that will remind you always of your skills. I wish I knew more about carpentry but will stick to clay for which its easy to fix mistakes.

Interesting about the pregnancy nose. I had a friend who said she had to leave the room when the McDonald's McRiblet sandwich commercial came on and she couldn't even smell that!

Today's mission is to find a house/pet sitter for our August trip. We really can't kennel the old dog. Too fragile.

Paula, you are so busy and yet manage to seem upbeat. We all need to take a lesson from you when we stress about petty stuff. All the best to Ben and family.

Carbon I sure hope you get no fires. You must live in such an exotic place! We only have a couple of roads in and out of here and they are periodically closed for repair but Caltrans diligently cuts the brush down. They spend more time mowing than fighting fires but thats good.

BB, glad you are feeling in a good place. Keep it up and enjoy the baby development. Are you thinking of names and are you going to find out gender when you can?

Well it still feels like summer here and the rains don't really start until late october or mid november. Right now I am enjoying the bee balm, roses, asters and other colorful plants on my deck. The rest of the yard is a wreck.

Well there are errands to run, papers to sort, meds to pick up, gallery checks to do and pet sitters to find. I am a dog servant. Diane S

Yes, we will find out gender. And DH and I have decided to do the DNA test. It's pretty new, only my sister's youngest child was she able to do this for. But basically as early at 10 weeks you can have blood drawn and it looks for the fetal dna to scan for the most common trisomies and also gender. It takes about a week to get the results back, so I might know as soon as labor day!

I have ALWAYS thought about names. I'm obsessed with names. I just need like 20 children to name. I've found that you never know how many enemies a person has until you mention names to them, lol. Isn't it funny how many names people have bad associations with? But I'm trying not to get too far into the naming process before we know the gender.

I am really hoping for a girl. I know it's politically correct to say "all I want is a healthy baby." And while that's true...I'd like a girl! Since my husband already has two kids, this might be my only, and I just feel like girls stay closer to home. I see painting and piano and decorating cookies, going to the Nutcracker, and later on planning Thanksgiving together, etc. Obviously boys can do some/all of that too. But to be honest, I just don't know boys. I have ONE male cousin. I'm one of three girls, and my older sister has four daughters. Yep, lots of girls in my family!! So in that way, it would be exciting to have a boy. And it would be fun to learn a lot I don't know. But I'd be lying if I didn't say I was hoping girl!

Hey great BB. Then you can have one of those cool pink/blue cake reveals. I hope you get a girl too though boys certainly worship their moms for life. ds

Girls are great (I have 3), but so are boys (1)!