podmom

listen to me MLdon't move till Mlette G-d willing has kids. You will not want to be a plane ride away from her or your grandkids if you don't have to. You hate the heat. Besides MrML liking the heat what is it about Florida that makes you think you will like it there? The gators? Seriously though I don't think you want to be far away from Mlette. You missed her just on this one "kind of holiday".

keepsmiling thanks for the AL 1st grade well wishes. Wednesday she complained for the first time. Her one little friend in the class wouldn't let her sit next to her at lunch said she was saving that seat for a new little friend she had made. Ugg I am so not looking forward to the social stuff that goes on with girls at school. Poor little kid must be tired after now 4 days of all day school after not ever doing that. I will need to toughen up. I'm sure you have words of wisdom regarding that

MyrnaLynne

Thanks for the advice PodMom - a hurricane is hitting that part of FL right now, and my best friend's house on West coast of Florida is about to be flooded with water Her neighors are flooded and her friend/coworker has a tree across the roof and water coming in. These disasters are always sad in the abstract but when it's somebody you know.. wow!

Mlette was all excited/nervous yesterday about her weekend trip and what to pack for Maine (where is might be hot and probably will be cold) - layers, I recommended bringing lots of layers -- and bug spray! The mosquitoes had a picnic on her, when she went up to NH with John a few weeks ago. She was so embarrassed at all the red bites up and down her legs, when we went to that wedding last Sunday. She is so sweet, even the bugs know it!

My cousin, who is a much better planner than I am, is planning to go back to FL (with her crabby sister from NY) to open up the condo for their Dad for the winter, and invited me to fly down and back with them, and see my Dad for a few days. I've been thinking I should go see him.. Luckily, that bad storm missed his town! Phew!

I was so late sending stuff to my son for his birthday too - it's next week and with the Monday holiday, his cards might be late.

I'm wondering if my tenant downstairs is getting senile - he paid the rent, but it was short $200! It hasn't been that amount for many years - worrisome.

podmom

Thanks for not being annoyed at how intense I was about you not moving far away from Mlette I just am worried you might actually do it and then regret it. Taking a pg from bossy Betty

Bugs love me too I hope she has a wonderful time in Maine.

Yes when someone you know or yourself deals with a disaster it becomes way more real. Our flood damage from Sandy wasn't our primary home or that bad but I sure have a more real sense of how much hassle it is to deal with a flood and it's repercussions sorry about your friend in FL and her neighbors.

It would be nicer to have someone to fly down with. You've been so busy and travel is work but then again you don't get to see your dad very often. Tough decision.

hope tenant just had a flashback

keepsmiling7

Hope everyone is having a nice holiday weekend. We don't have anything special going on. Will celebrate a birthday luncheon with long time girl friends.......we've all reached that magic special number 80.

MyrnaLynne

Wow keepsmiling Happy Birthday to your friends who have reached 80! (80 is the new 70 - lol) You are definitely a role model for the rest of the JOFs.

It was so cold here last night, I'm picturing poor Mlette being a popsicle!

Funny, my sister-in-law said to just call her up and ask about going to Florida with the cousins (so I can book the ticket sooner), but I don't want to interrupt her vacation. I guess she's right, the phone does reach all the way up to Maine - lol - (and she always has her phone, being a modern gal), but it just never occurred to me to call and bother her! Funny.

I brought home 4 papers to work on over the holiday weekend But then I remembered my printer is out of ink, so I can't print any of them out until I get to the store for ink.

No plans here either, but might do some errands (like going for ink) with my sister-in-law Barbara, as she has nothing to do and likes to drive and I have things to do and hate driving. A lot of little errands have been put on hold because every weekend last month was booked up! Maybe we'll go to lunch too.

Ooo, very excited. Mr ML and I saw an ad that Donovan, the Beatles-era singer, is having a concert in Boston, and we said "We should go to that" so I looked it up and the tickets weren't too expensive so I ordered some and we're going! With Mr ML working nights, we rarely get to go and do anything fun together (he's going to switch his day off that week so we can go on a Saturday night). That's the other thing, his 'weekend' isn't two days together and aren't on everyone else's weekend, and keep changing around. Very annoying. Oh well, only 4 months left to the year and then he plans to retire.

Mr ML was surprised nobody he works with had ever heard of 'Donovan' but we're old, and they're younger (and also a lot of them are foreign, like from Africa, so why would they know that music?)

Yes PodMom you certainly dealt with a lot fixing up the Haven after the Hurricane, so you know how bad it is. I think the rain might have stopped in time and didn't flood her place but it was a matter of inches. It must be so stressful just watching the water come up and up and nothing to do about it and noplace to go! I can't imagine it.

podmom

Wow MrML is retiring in 4 months. That is big. I'm so glad podad got asked to consult....I really hope he keeps it up but I am afraid he won't much longer. It won't be as much of a jolt for you to have him home all day since you work...but I guess when you both retire it will be an adjustment.

Very cool you are seeing Donovan!!

I hope MLette had a wonderful trip with her BF.

It really works out well that Barbara likes to drive you around

Yes indeed keepsmiling is by far the youngest 80 year old I know!! She is our guru

MyrnaLynne

Oh now a big trip is coming up! My cousin is going down to FL again with her sister to open up the condo for her dad and stepmom and she suggested I join her (again) and they will drop me off to see my Dad for a few days (and pick me up enroute back to the airport), so I thought that was a great idea, and I asked Mlette if she'd like to go too and she said yes (when she got back from Maine last night) so I bought plane tickets with seats in the row with my cousin - and then immediately started worrying! Flying in mid December? What are we thinking? What if there's a blizzard and we can't go (or can't get back), etc.

As soon as I bought the tickets I had 'flyer's remorse'! Woke up today and I was still freaking out about travelling...

And my son has use it-or-lose it vacation time to use up before the end of the year, and now he's thinking about coming to FL then too, from Texas, so we can all hang out together (but there are only 2 guest beds; he'd have to sleep on the sofa). He's debating between that and coming up to Boston for a visit - either way, it would be nice to see him!

Mlette survived Maine with only 4 bug bites - and she saw a water snake (!) but it didn't see her! PHew!

keepsmiling7

ML........so MrML is going to retire. You might be real glad you are still working. It is very different when both of you are at home all day, together, every day. I worked three years after hubby took early retirement from Motorola. He traveled across the US baby-sitting with grandkids during that time. His oldest daughter was divorced and was having a struggle with her job and very young children. It was a blessing that he could help out.

Hello PODMOM and WEN.

MyrnaLynne

It's true keepsmiling - the nights he doesn't go to work and is home all night, he sort of gets on my nerves and that's only two nights a week! I can imagine it's a big adjustment. He's already wondering what he'll do with himself, instead of working.

We seem to go back and forth - yesterday I couldn't stand working another minute, and he didn't mind it that much.

Things feel so up in the air - we need to figure out what we want to do, and start working on doing it. Or else we'll do nothing.

podmom

Don't worry MLDecember isn't a big snow month usually. We used to fly in February every year for about 5 years (presidents weekend) to ski and we flew to Maine the worst to ever happen is one year ( at night no less) they kept us on the tarmac and had to keep deicing us cause it was snowing hard...but the plane finally tool off and we were fine. December is a nice time of year to be in Fla plus you won't have your father around forever. I hope your son goes there for your fathers sake. That sounds nice. MAtbe the BF will go kidding...kinda

keepsmiling and Wentoo

MyrnaLynne

Thanks Podmom for some reason as soon as I booked those tickets, I flew into a total panic afterwards! It will be fine... It will be jarring to go from winter to summer and back to winter so quickly, plus having to wear winter stuff, bring summer stuff (Dad's place is always 80 or hotter -phew).

Not sure son is going to come now (his wife broke a bone in her foot somehow).. there are only two guest beds anyway (so no place to put the BF either, if he came). Mr ML said maybe he'd go down, and I said he'd need a plane ticket and he said maybe he'd drive and I said well, you'll have to leave a week early to meet us there.. LOL! Dad does have some pretty comfy sofas, though, somebody could sleep on.

I was sort of daydreaming that Mlette could have a 'destination' wedding in FL and then Dad could come... but pretty sure it would happen up here, if/when it happens. I am so aware that my Dad's time is limited/precious.... SIGH

Oh gosh what a scary trip, to be stuck on the ground, being de-iced - sounds like a story from 'Why Planes crash" (that scary show on Weather Channel). ;p

podmom

Funny you said about that plane crash show....as I was scrolling around I saw the title of that show and thought...never ever watch it!

Boy I really tried hard to have Emily have a destination wedding ...couldn't talk her into it. I am still so grateful about the rain miracle! Her wedding made it onto some blog. I'll link it on my FB pg in awhile....first I want my quote I put on this morning to be seen.

about the aged dad reality. Mortality is tough

keepsmiling7

PODMOM......how is the little first grader doing? Did I remember that Liz does some volunteering at her school, and you come babysit to make that possible?

ML......what's the latest on the retirement for you, on again.....off again??

WEN........in one month I'll be on my way to see the great granddaughter. Can't believe Piper is already 2.

podmom

Very exciting you'll be seeing Piper soon keepsmiling it is hard for us to realize two years have flown by already too

Liz volunteered that one day I went to babysit. I'm not sure how often that will happen. First grade is going pretty well. Anna Lee has had some social issues....She was sitting with 2 other little girls on the bus for a week and then they told her she couldn't sit with them anymore and her one friend in the class that she knew at least one day told her she was saving a seat at lunch for someone else and she couldn't sit there of course this stuff is hard for mom and grandmom....I always hated the social issues at school...there is so little you can do besides pray and couch them about how to handle it and what to say in certain circumstances. Parents are not teaching their kids how to be kind to others very much these days I'm afraid. I talked to Emily about all this for some perspective because she ran into some hard ppl in grad school and I asked her if she would have ever kicked a kid out of the bus seat and she said she might have wanted to but never would have because she would have known even at that age it would be mean.

MyrnaLynne

keepsmiling wonderful you will see Piper again soon, and I can't believe she's 2 already. ZIP, time flies by.

Can't believe it's 15 years since 9/11 either (I refuse to call it Patriot's Day, because we have a perfectly good holiday already called that, in Massachusetts, in April, the government chose to ignore). There aren't words to describe/give a name to such a bad thing anyway, so 9/11 seems enough. shrug.

PodMom oh mean girls in school start out so young these days! That's so sad. All the helicopter moms are all about pushing their own precious offspring forward and if anybody gets trampled in the process.. just too bad! It's very sad, the lack of kindness, lack of respect, etc... LOL, boy I sound old, but it's true!

MLette used to sit with a mentally challenged girl at lunch in high school - because she's kind, and because she doesn't mind those folks at all/probably enjoyed it - she worked caring for Downs Syndrome people in a group home after college (and then managing one of the homes, before going back to school to be an RN). She got her kind heart from my late mother-in-law or from her father (he loves to go visit his old relatives).. didn't get it from me or my side! Although I try harder these days...