Melrick

::hugs:: It certainly can, but we do the best we can for them.

How's your mum doing?

Doing better than she was. But the older a person gets, the harder illnesses hit them and the longer it takes for them to bounce back.

Oh, dear, I hate when I do that.

I really would swap with you... We're having a very brief flirtation with the upper 40s and then it's back to cold again.

I'd rather keep the cold....

Ya mean you're not REALLY a puddle of melted goo??

We were above the freezing mark today. I was nearly delirious and shed my coat. It's pathetic when 42F feels like a heat wave...

No more pillows and sheets drenched with sweat. Yippee!

That's a normal part of the process of grieving. But speaking as a parent, as much as I hate knowing that my children will mourn for me one day, that is far better than my outliving them. I'm not sure I could bear it. I nearly lost my daughter a year and a half ago, and I'm still reeling from that.

Oh dear. You have my sympathy!

Mine as well. At least it's legal to kill the cockroach.

Half of my family are Witnesses. Just imagine getting the recruitment speech every single visit... oh and they get more zealous with family

lol Duly noted.

I take frequent breaks myself. The use of brakes is, however, always discretionary.

lol It's a nice car, apart from the uncomfortable seats, which are pretty standard in modern cars for some reason.

lol

Well dammit - I was late to the party and got noffin!

Trust me, if I was 30 years younger, I might have gone for the eternal life....

He's a wise man, Mr. Gervais...

Yes indeed.

Sarcasm? Wazzat?

"Serpentine, Sheldon, serpentine..."

Just one last thing before you go, Mr Falk...

I put my phone on vibrate when I'm out, stuff it in my purse, and ignore the vibrating purse. I don't go out to type (unless you count writing at the pool).

it's the current mentality. How many of the obnoxious people will be talking to you but the second the phone rings they take that and ignore you.

My aunt and uncle who are in their 60s txt each other from across the dinner table.

*hugs and cookies* good to hear that, Melrick. I'll keep you guys in my thoughts.

Melrick, that's always good to hear. Let's hope it continues!

Thanks everyone. More good days to follow, I hope.

SK has the right of it - Some of your cats symptoms will most likely be the same as renal failure if they are undersized and can't filter as much as a regular kidney

Thankfully, he's not at the stage where his kidneys are failing. They're smaller than they should be, but that's it for now. He's now stopped eating the dry cat food you buy from supermarkets because they ALL actually cause cat kidneys to shrink. So he's now on the fancy, expensive sort you can only buy from vets and pet supply places. They actually help the kidneys.

Ohh, no no no...Yea, this is why we should talk - Sent you a PM

Kitkats and Crunch we have have, don't know what 100 Grand is and Reeses I've tried.

100 grand is like a crunch bar blown up around caramel.

Peanut butter M&Ms.

I hope despite the wait that he is okay and cancer free!

~agrees with Apollo's sentiment~

I hope so too.

btw, we do have Sprite here, but Sprite is just a brand of lemonade.

Wow! No homemade lemonade.... So no 10 pence stands near your house, I'll wager, huh?

We don't use pence in Australia, but no, I've never seen or even heard of that happening here. lol

Thanks. And I can only try, I guess.

I'm sorry for it, Melrick, but I know from experience that these kinds of reactions can't be "logicked" away, and it's very frustrating. I have a couple of practical tips for when you are stressed though. If you look up when you breathe, it will open your airways and you'll get more oxygen, which may help to calm you. Also, cross your arms over your body and stroke the outer edge of your upper arms with your fingertips - it's very calming and comforting. I hope tho...

I'll try it. Hopefully it'll help to some degree.

Happy New year, and we all deserve a good one. I think we've earned it, a few times over.

Happy new year to you both, too.

Agree with all of the above! Happy New Year!

Moradin. He has a hammer.

Now to count down the days...

Ouch, Melrick. I do hope you will still have hair left when your relatives go back to their own homes.

and lazy idiots that are more concerned with clothes, make-up and music than learning something that was taught way back in grade school.

Things aren't much better in this country, sadly.

I know teens here, and grown ups too, who think it's boring to read... I nearly beat the living daylights out of the girls who said that to me, with my one volume, hardcover Lord of the Rings...

No, it isn't. I'm sorry to hear that you needed to do that.

Having been in the emergency room - on both sides of that equation - it doesn't sound like fun at all. 'M sorry.