Loved this. Thirteen years ago today, my Dad passed away. Okay, he was never "Dad"…he was, even after I was grown…always "Daddy". All of my memories of him come spilling forward on this day…I celebrate his life and all that he gave me with his love and guidance. Tonight we will have mexican food and ice cold beers in his memory…on his Birthday each year we have another of his favorites…burgers and cold beers. I know he would approve.

Its my understanding that he wanted to break up with Melissa in private, but it was in his contract that any "changes" in the relationship would be televised. He explained that the two were "not together" before they appeared on Monday’s show, and there was even discussion backstage about whether or not she would wear her ring…its entertainment, its harmless, and no one forces anyone to watch if they choose not to.

Ah, letter number one…reminds me of my Jackass ex…two weeks before he married his "re-discovered" High School Sweetheart…(who just happened to be a millionaire…) he asked ME to marry him again!! WHAT?? I didn’t even flinch…I knew he didn’t miss me…he missed the house, eight acres, luxury SUV, dogs, and everything else he signed away in the divorce because "he knew I could never live without him and I would be back.." hehe…the house was mine anyway…as was the SUV…the dogs never missed him…and neither did I! What a PRIZE his old sweetheart got! Hah!

After being divorced/single for ten years…love found me when I was forty six. I never saw it coming…I had stopped looking. Yet, when I saw him for the very first time, I said to a friend…"Thats him, thats the man I’m going to marry." Since she had spent years hearing this reply to the "Will You Marry Again?" question…my reply was always "OH HELLLL NOOO!!"  She was floored to hear my comment when HE walked in the room…but I was right. Thank Goodness. Sometimes, our heart just takes over, and knows best.

What Dee T says is true…reach out…be aware. When I noticed that our neighbor’s children weren’t coming over as often or inviting our boys over as they had before, I asked their Mom over for coffee…she’s a single Mom…she had been laid off, they had no heat, very little food, she was using her savings to keep the mortgage paid and the lights on. Heating the house with space heaters. Her pride would not allow her to reach out. She was adamant that she would NOT lose her children’s home…I gave her a box and told her to go "shopping" in my fridge, freezer and pantry. I helped her get assistance so she could get heating oil. I volunteered to watch her children when she has job interviews…other neighbors were happy to help. My Father used to say you have to share your blessings in order to let God know you appreciate them. In these times, anyone could be in crisis…and they may only need a kind word of out reach, so they know they are not alone.

I watched this and it made my head hurt. She speaks to her Mother with such disrespect, and yet this is the woman who had been the primary care giver for the other six children! She is an ungrateful wench…talking to her Mother like that! If I was her Mother I would disappear in the night…since her daughter is so adamant that she can care for all fourteen…LET HER TRY!! I’m wondering, in that house, where they are going to put eight cribs…and will Social Services make a home visit before those babies are brought home?? Again…it all makes my head hurt.

I must admit the "Housewives" shows are my guilty pleasure. I laugh and laugh. When I was in Real Estate, I knew MANY women like Vicki on OC…no balance between work and home. She’s pretty tightly wrapped! The whole Gretchen - Jeff dynamic bothered me…and I know the show is edited for entertainment, but it seemed like she was a little more focused on herself than on him. Just my opinion. I couldn’t understand how she could go so many places and seem to be so happy when he was terminally ill and in the hospital. And yes I know caregivers need respite time…but she seemed to take it to the extreme.

Letter # 1 - Great advice, and good for the Mom, getting her child into counseling. The thing that rang my bell was the child saying the Mother "invaded her privacy"…Hello! You’re a minor child living at home, a freshman in High School…your "privacy" is limited and should be determined by your parents. When my then sixteen year old son said to me one day…"When am I going to get some privacy??" I told him probably when he was old enough and capable enough to pay for it on his own! Don’t even get me started on the whole cell phone for kids thing!

My Father and Grandmother called me Sister…my cousins didn’t call my Father "Uncle"…they called him "Bubba". I thought all families were the same way! Ah, I love the south.

The only flight I take is a 45 minute hop from Dulles to Savannah…but in April, to celebrate my 50th, I will be flying to one of my favorite cities, San Francisco, to spend ten days with dear friends and celebrate! For “long” flights, I only fly one airline. If they don’t go there, I don’t need to go!! When I fly with them, its like the “old days” when airlines still seemed to care about their passengers and the flight attendants acted like they liked their jobs. Refreshing. I’m still a “white knuckle” flyer, but this airline just makes everything better. My motto for travel is “just check it”. I carry nothing but my purse and needlepoint on board.

I guess I expected more from WoW when it started. I post on fairly “innocent” topics now and keep most of my opinions on “hot” topics to myself…staying under the radar, so to speak. I don’t understand why some of the more offensive posters are allowed to have multiple identities and return again and again. I complained once, months ago, received no reply, and the poster I complained about simply changed their name and came back again. Guess it is just an internet fact of life. I enjoy most of the postings and read every day. It does seem to me that the site has lost some of its steam, as we see repeat articles, question of the day is more like question of the week, its almost like the founders have tired of their new toy. Just my humble opinion.

The Mother in letter two sounds like mine. She could suck the joy out of any situation. Glass was always half empty etc. I made the choice to “limit contact” and thats the way it has stayed. It helps that we are on opposite sides of the country. My Father raised me, and Thank God for that, I can’t imagine how I would have turned out if I had been raised in the cloud of negativity that is her life.

To open my door and see a certain Sailor standing there, saying “Happy Valentine’s Day Ma”…I know that won’t happen, but this old Ma is hoping for at least a phone call!!

If I had a larger home, I would love to have my Mother In Law live with us. I was raised by my Father and his Mother, so I know the value of having a grandparent in the house. It was a wonderful bonus in my childhood.