PatiSue

What do y'all think?.....

The flu is the topic of discussion all over the news. It seems to be worse this year and there have been several deaths in kids.

I was thinking "At what point in a situation like this do you try to limit your exposure to others?". Now, there are thousands of people getting sick from this and only a few have died (though those are a few too many, of course). I am not panicking, but the thought did cross my mind. Especially since the CDC has just posted that my state now has "widespread" flu (as opposed to sporadic and regional like it was just a week ago).

I also think, what if this was not the flu, but SARS or some bioterror weapon. NO! I am not saying that THIS outbreak is SARS or bioterror. What I mean is "How would we react if we knew that a disease was not "just the flu" but something more"?. It is something to note how QUICKLY this is spreading and to file that information in case one day something pops up that is more threatening.

I digress. Back to the orginal question, it is not hard for us--we homeschool and live a very quiet life. I am not talking about self imposed quarantine. Rather I am referring to curtailing "extra" trips to town. At what point is tha good, or is it pretty much no use? For example, Girl Scouts--yes or no? Trip to the grocery store for some extras--yes or no? "Girls night out" yes or no? Swim lessons--yes or no? (We do not ave all these things, I am just using them as examples.)

May I rant here just one second? It really bothers me when people take their sick kids out in public OR go out in public themselves when they are sick. I am not talking about REQUIRED trips out--like to work that you cannot miss, etc. I am talking about "extras". I have known of mothers who took their kids with the STOMACH flu to an Easter brunch because they did not want to miss it. I have also heard moms say "well I am just tired of being indoors...I am going to go crazy if we do not get out of the house". xsighx. Now if you know your child is not contagious, that is one thing, but still, a child who feels poorly needs to be resting, IMO.

I apologise for that rant. I am sure that I too have mistakenly taken my children out, it just bothers me when the baby is OBVIOUSLY feverish and feels horrible or is coughing up a spleen or is trying not to throw up and yet they are still taken out.

Anyway, any input you have I would love to read!

A.

Mare,

We are definitely a straight "butter" family here when it comes to spaetlze. Also, what recipe do you use for your spaetzle?

I just could not tell you how much I love that stuff. When I was a kid and we had company for dinner, I would watch VERY carefully to see how much everyone was taking (I was sure they loved it as much as I did) and to make sure there would be enough for me LOLOL.

A.

HILARIOUS and SOOO true. Now couple that cat with a 12 week old puppy who is JUST tall enough to reach the top of the table and THEN see what the presents look like!!! LOLOL

A.

We have the lingonberries (low bush cranberries) growing wild here--I love them! I prefer to pick them before they are ripe--they seem juicier then.

I have found a raspberry hill on our property (feel stupid--my yard isn ot that big, but never went on this hill in the summer and after FOUR years found out that it is covered with RASPBERRIES!! DOH!). I have also bought some raspberry cultivars and placed them in a separate bed. Also currants, gooseberries and the VERY best--serviceberries (aka saskatoons). OH those are great. Cannot WAIT for next year--need to clear out the raspberry patch and spray for fungus but should have quite a bit of yield hopefully!

A.

OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW--it is amazing how they can get into trouble so quick!

I hope he feels better soon---and you too!!!

A.

We too like to have beef for Christmas, but turkey is fine too. What we will also have is spaetzle (a MUST--the only tradition that I will keep no matter what), probably something green and healthy, cranberry sauce (again, from the can, in the SHAPE of the can and with the date code indention still visible! xsighx). For dessert I want to make a chocolate cheese cake (not really a cheese cake per se, but REALLY good).

For breakfast sweetie will probably want a farmer's breakfast, and if he does we will have it, but I would rather have a sour cream coffee cake. We will have to see :-)

A.

Well, just another .02 (and worth every penny, if that...)....

I am a military wife, grew up in the military, etc. Currently I am thousands of miles away from my family. My father just called a couple of weeks ago and said "Oh there is a guy that I went to school with and guess what? His son is remote to Korea but his wife is still in your area and is really lonely. Also there is another guy who works with me and his child and their family are up there too. You might call them if you want to....". So I did. Why? For two reasons: I do not think you can have too many friends and it just broke my heart to hear that the one wife was so lonely and that her dh was going to be gone for a year. I could not imagine how it must feel (or actually I could and it kills me) and I know that I would love for someone to call me out of the blue and say "Hey, how are you doing?". Not everyone feels this way of course, but I sure would appreciate it!

The MIL is best friends with your mom. They both have girls in the family about the same age. It would be natural to try to get them together at some point--especially if you know one of them is quite lonely. You cannot and should not be the girl's counselor at all, but it probably would not hurt to just email her and say "hey", if that is something you wanted to do. It might not be the first thing on your list, but it might mean the world to the girl. Military life is really really hard on folk and yes, I am sure she is wallowing in guilt and yes she and her hubby should both be slapped for letting the situation get out of control. However we all make mistakes. If I was judged on my stupidity, I would not have a friend in the world!

OF COURSE the choice is yours, but since you do not have a problem with the past, since your mom and her MIL are friends and since she is going through a rough time, maybe an email or phone call would not be a horrible idea. Should you play counselor? NO!!!!!! But even if she had not pushed her husband into this situation,she would still be feeling pretty poopy. I would tell the mothers that you are going to counsel this girl, no matter what you decide to do. If you decide to extend the hand of friendship, that is one thing, but tell them that you are not a therapist (nicely of course lol).

I guess that is my point (did I mention it takes me a long time to get to things?). Would you still feel as reticent if your mom said ONLY "Hey, I know a girl whose dh is deployed for a year and is pretty down. Would you mind giving her a call?". If you would do that under those circumstances, then perhaps consider doing that now. Everyone acts really stupidly some time--especially the first time they are faced with a long term separation. I grew up in this, and was still a big brat when my sweetie first started going on TDY's and to school, etc. I am sure he was glad to leave after as ugly as I was being! You grow up, get a grip and then when they leave, it just leaves a dull ache, not a bleeding, burning pain in your heart.

And you know, he might have been called up if he had stayed in his old unit anyway--things are pretty hopping right now...

It sounds like I am trying to persuade you to do this, and maybe I am, and that is wrong of me. You have to make the decision. I just wanted to show a different side of the issue form someone who has gone through some of that. Take it for what it is worth (which is probably not much) .

A.

Oh! I hope she feels better soon!

A.

Thanks for the cookies!!!

A.

One more idea: my sweetie has found that if you do not wrap AROUND the tree but rather wrap the lights on "s" fashions, that makes it easier to both put up and take down. The idea of putting the lights down IN the branches REALLY does make the tree look more beautiful and gives it much depth.

Do not forget safety--no frayed wires, put a smoke detector near or on the tree, and keep the tree well hydrated

A.

Thank you for such a warm welcome!!!! AND thank you for the flowers .

Please forgive if I blanket the site with posts in the next day or two--I am just so tickled to be here and have been itching to post!! Just rein me in if I go overboard LOLOL.

A.

Ok, NOW I can post!!!

I am new here and am SO excited to join this group! I was on another prep/survival board and it is a good one, but I was looking for more practical and less political and my friend had told me about this site a long time ago.

i am a Christian, headcover, homeschool, love to shoot, crochet, sew. I have two children. I have a degree in psychology. My sweetie is military. I am right of Atilla the Hun politically lolol.

Hmm....not a lot interesting about me LOLOL. I look very forward to being part of this group.

A.

Having trouble posting....