crazy-strict HOA’s and rousting non-neighborhood kids from the private “neighborhood” parks and pools

Oh man, I’m going to have to go find this. I have a friend who is pregnant now who is planning on doing this, but she’s also very against “toxins” and all for “cleanses” to remove them.

If it had been a slower shift, I’d have taken a couple of minutes to comb through the menu to figure out exactly what they thought they’d ordered.

I think there are a variety of things to try to prevent sneaking out. First of all, it a 13-year old is really sneaking out and getting high (I don’t know if that’s what happened in this case, or if that was just a scenario for GoForASoda’s comment), I would probably try counseling. Another commenter mentioned alarms…

Maybe it’s because I’ve never been to a wedding quite that fancy, but I’ve definitely enjoyed weddings. I agree that sometimes people spend money on things that don’t matter and no one even noticed, but I’ve genuinely enjoyed getting to see friends and celebrate with them.

I tried to write a similar comment earlier today when I first read the article, but it kept coming out way too wordy.

I AM SO MAD THAT I DIDN’T HAVE A JUMPING CASTLE AT MY WEDDING.

Hmmm, it must just be over my head, because I still don’t get it.

I don’t necessarily think grounding a kid is an ironic punishment for sneaking out though. Like if the kid sneaks out at 2am, they are, as you said, “many steps ahead of you”—of sneaking out in the middle of the night when the parents are probably asleep.

I think you misread. I was replying to this comment by GoForASoda:

I feel like I used to see them in the newspaper in the early 1990s. Back then though, it was like 1 portrait at Sears or something. Like a picture that would be in a church directory. Not like an on-location photoshoot with 3 outfit changes.

As standalones, I like they second picture way better. I have friends who do professional photos once a year or so, and I think high quality candid pictures (I mean, it looks like it was taken by a nicer camera, had more editing, etc) are really lovely keepsakes.

And as long as you threaten it beforehand, it’s not abusive, apparently.

I have a Facebook friend who posts a picture like the second one nearly everyday. While the pictures are objectively cute, and something I would love as a yearly photo shoot or something, the fact that it’s so often is a little eye-roll inducing to me.

That’s the best!

Kid: Does it again.

Clearly it’s not the exact same scenario, but the general idea is the same (if that’s actually what happened, we don’t know for sure)—mother loses child and is unable to process that her child is dead, so goes on as if it didn’t happen.

I assume that (some) of the older children weren’t planned. Also, maybe she means spontaneous in the sense that she thinks “I’m going to have IVF, even though I’m 65, because I still feel in great health and could totally take care of a baby (or four)“ rather than “If I have IVF now, when I’m 65, I’ll be 83 by the…

I’m going to guess it wasn’t a brightly colored phone that enraged the bison, but rather a group of people standing 3 feet away.

My MIL was a stay-at-home mom. She and FIL got divorced after the kids were out of the house, she was in her early 50s and hadn’t worked in over 20 years. Luckily, FIL isn’t an asshole, and she was really well taken care of money-wise in the divorce.