Spidey's mom

Many thanks Dianah for updating here about Viva's death. She and I have met in person a few times. She, another AN member, and I chatted frequently together on Messenger about all things, big and small; funny and sad. I'm grateful to have known her. She definitely made an impact in many ways and will be greatly missed. ❤️

Hello all from far Northern CA. I only occasionally check out AN but may change that. I have some time on my hands now that I took a break from hospice nursing. Although, I'm busy being grandma too. Spidey is married and has a 7 month old daughter. I think he was just a few months old when I found AN. Crazy. I still hang with many of you over on FB. I know Tweety is headed to a great vacation. I've actually become a vegan due to his influence (and trying to get my cholesterol down). Nice to see that so many of you are all still here. steph

Hey, hello! I rarely visit AN much but did today and of course this thread intrigued me. I see you are still on the ball TMB! Good job on this thread! (I see I'm still considered a "Guide". Thank you AN).

Hello folks! Tweety gave a few of us a "poke" on FB about not coming to AN much when some of us mentioned we didn't know Dianah was retiring! So he motivated me to log in! Dianah - I am happy for you and really want to retire as well but I'm turning 65 this Summer, 66.5 is the retirement age for full SS benefits, and I still have a (damn) mortgage. My husband is 4 years older and technically retired but works for a local farmer from March to October every year. He loves farming. I want freedom from a work schedule that makes it hard to see my grandkids. I have four now; two from oldest son in Idaho and they are 6 (boy) & 8 (girl) and two from 2nd son in Mendocino, both girls, 2 and 1. Plus, I'm tired. The last two years have been tough, as I know you ALL know. Did I check in since Spidey got married last August? steph

Gave me a good chuckle Davey! If I were to wear gloves into a grocery store (which I wouldn't) . . . I'd use antibacterial foam that I keep in my car. I do that anyway when I leave my car to go to the store and when I get back to my car. Also, at the entrance to the store when I wipe off the grocery cart handle.

Not a fan of living room interviews or Zoom meetings. There is a TP commercial, the ones with the Bear family, letting us know they are working hard to make sure we have all the TP we need. ? And yes, I don't see the need to wear a mask out in the open on a trail, while riding a bike, or jogging. Or in the car. My mask comes off when I'm working as soon as I get out of the hospital. There is a handy-dandy trash can outside just for that purpose. And no, I don't wear it while driving. I'm in California so there is always road work - the flagmen/women do have to wear masks but it doesn't make sense to me at all. I love Zdogg too. He's done some great interviews with Dr. Paul Offit and others, plus the music videos. Yes to DryBar Comedy.

I was thinking about you a bit ago! Thanks for the update. Yes and thank you.

Thinking of you and sending positive vibes as well!

That does sound scary. Thanks for the details. Your mild case of flu is most likely due to getting the flu shot as it can lessen the severity or keep you from getting the flu. I'm glad you will be observed and hopefully this was simply a fluke.

I'm not torn. 38% chance of effectiveness is better than zero. Plus, if you do end up with the flu, you will most likely have a milder flu. As I'm nearing retirement age, I'm working with hospice patients, mostly in their homes. Their health is fragile and I'm going to do everything I can to not hasten it by bringing flu into their home. Also, I have a family member in remission from cancer whose immune system was blasted by chemo prior to a stem cell transplant. I protected him as well. Not to mention, a new baby coming in a month and other grandkids. I'm going to protect those around me. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/season/faq-flu-season-2019-2020.htm?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fflu%2Fseason%2Fflu-season-2019-2020.htm

I'm curious about what your reaction was . . . ?

I heard a dermatology presentation a week ago that talked about the ramifications of how we older (ahem) folks worshiped the sun using baby oil. And yes, got that "base tan" and hated white legs. Really fascinating look at skin cancer, increasing rates, and how to protect yourself. They did talk extensively as well about the unsubstantiated fears about the ingredients in sunscreen, the scientific research into safety of sunscreens, and I have no qualms about using them. I've also seen some rather extensive surgeries related to removal of cancer on the face. Including a family member who had about 1/3 of her nose removed due to melanoma. She had a skin graft that look a bit like Frankenstein's monster for awhile with a vein snaked down from her hairline to her nose to feed the graft. She was lucky in that it hadn't spread but melanoma is pretty famous for spreading to other parts of the body before you realize something is wrong. Put on sunscreen, wear a hat, long sleeves on a hike, etc. Way better than having part of your face removed.

Just saw this. I'm soo jealous! Best wishes and don't stay away forever! steph

The comments about your infertility issues from others I agree with. I do have to comment specifically about your husband though because I have experience with abused women and men. You should really consider whether you want to stay with a man who treats you so disrespectfully. Do you want to raise a child with a man like that? If he is verbally abusive to you, the child will grow up hearing that. And he might also be verbally abusive to the child. I'd advise you to think hard about this. Is this really the way you want to live between now and when you die?

YES, keeping a sense of humor keeps a marriage going! And yes, strip poker would be fun. If I didn't have a kid in the house still. ?