get mowed down by my kids - it’s great - then figure out dinner and go over the day with hubby

does anyone else think that glossed cyber picture of the 21 yo is creepy? sorry…had to say that…lol there is a lot of serious advice out there for a 21 yo - you know the people who are now around my age, mid 40’s that did the things some of you said, like buying a house right away, investing and all are actually pretty miserable now and are trying to act like kids again - and trying to act 21 when you are over 40 really makes you look silly - so again, I say: have fun at 21!

Don’t be picky about your first job - if it’s remotely related to what you think you want, take it - this is resume building time Have fun in your twenties - work out every day, then go out with your friends, stay out late, go out for breakfast and then put in a decent day at work and start all over again (you can sleep in on Saturday/Sunday) - these are the years you look back on later and say, no regrets, I had a blast, I worked my butt off, and I’m glad I did - sure, these will be the years that you are paying your dues, trying to earn respect on the job, figuring out your career path, but you don’t need to do that sitting home watching tv - use those measly 2 weeks they give you wisely - take cheap vacations staying at hostels around the world, go camping with your friends - and even go on vacation with your parents (at least once_ so you can now get to know them as real people and a couple - take a year off to teach English or work in a foreign country, your resume will hardly be stained go to graduate school, don’t wait - for your generation, this is truly a must but really, have a lot of fun and work really hard - make good use of your youthful energy

I think Mark, like a lot of men who complain that their wives don’t dote on them 24/7 or still wear a size 4 like then they married them, needs a mirror… this is one of my biggest fears - an affair - it’s the abandonment complex I guess so reading this literally made me sweat! I do think I would have woken him actually and asked “why are your shorts on backwards and what is up with your shirt?” and let it hang there for a response - I would not have fallen asleep without confronting it - why should he get to sleep while I am freaked out?

I think this is why so many of us have taken to Yoga - I go once a week though I know I’d be better off emotionally as well as physically if I went every day - I think we as adults are looking for ways to shut down but we don’t know how anymore - having a household that is about 75% no tv or media helps us because it forces us to hang out or read

I am on a well and my water is great so I wouldn’t buy bottled water - we have a bottled water company here that just turns the tap on to make their “fresh” water and their Town’s wellheads are in the watershed of the town dump so don’t assume bottled water is better for you - I don’t drink town water because I am so used to my well water that all I taste is the chlorine they have to use for the town, but the town water is fine to drink

We try to keep a Waldorf household which means no or rarely used electronics and no plastic toys - my now 15 yo is into video at school (go figure, but she is actually very talented at it), my 9 yo prefers making fairy houses in the woods around our house but she does get bored easily to which I respond “don’t tell me you are bored, there is plenty to do around here” and then she knows enough and scatters and finds a book to read in a quiet corner or makes forts (remember forts?), and our 3 1/2 yo plays “knight” and “pirate” but the few movies he has seen are memorized so sometimes a knight is friends with Buzz Lightyear (lol) - so I think moderation is the key as with most things - I think being bored is a good skill to overcome but allowing a “zone out” by watching DVD’s on a 9 hour car drive is not a bad thing either - I do know it’s easier for me to keep the electronics to a minimum because I live on an island off the coast of Maine where many other families are equally dedicated to “going off the grid” a little - but I will admit I love checking my NetFlix cue and I do watch the Jim Lehrer report….I like JMK’s point that when in crisis, there is no such thing as boredom so I guess we should also call ourselves lucky that we have so much? it’s not a simple question…

Okay, that’s depressing…

This advice above is excellent - I was advised to treat my boss the way I would like to be treated - it was simple advice that has served me well…now I treat my staff the way I would have wanted to be treated in their roles I also am lucky I had a mix of great mentors early in my career and not so great ones later on before becoming a manager myself I am also mentoring an entry-level person and it’s a challenge - but it works because he wants to learn so I think the key is hire someone who has the eagerness to learn and know they have to pay their dues to move up in the world and gain experience, and not someone necessarily that is only eager to get ahead (those are the ones that don’t work) the few things I told him were: he is responsible for his happiness on the job - if he is unhappy, he has to come see me and offer solutions; I expect him to ask questions as to why I say certain things in public and why I don’t - I am not going to babysit him, he has to take charge of his learning now if I can get advice on managing female admin asst’s, then I’m all set…

I think a good question would be to ask us if Obama supporters (that are female in here) feel guilty for favoring Obama over Clinton - I really like Obama but I do feel like I’m turning my back on a moment in history we have been waiting for - I don’t think this primary fight is polarizing to keep it going either - it shows we democrats give a damn, nothing worse than a complacent voter! we’ll have plenty of time to turn our attention to Senator McCain, don’t worry…

My Dad died last September and it’s been a hard time for me because I was very close to him though I didn’t get to really know him as a child because he worked on the railroad when I was growing up and would be gone a few days at a time. My Mom was very strict so when I got out of college I moved away and only visited since they didn’t like the fact I got married at 23 and they didn’t like who I married - over the years we grew closer but now I have regret that I didn’t make more time to get to know my Dad as an adult because he was such a great guy - I’m close to my Mom and I’m trying to help her through her loneliness so I guess I am not answering the question but it’s a tough one because I can’t choose between my parents - the question just reminded me that I didn’t let my Dad become that important by my own choosing reading some of the responses of people’s awful experiences makes my upbringing in a strict household very small and inconsequential and now having a teenage daughter who thinks I’m too strict and doesn’t want to be around me, this question makes me worry that she won’t think we were important to her either until it’s too late

I am 43 - until I turned 40 I was lucky that I always looked a lot younger (people thought I was the intern and not the director which was good and bad) but having our third baby at 39 gave me a few more lines and a few more pounds that I wasn’t expecting - lol - but it’s an “oh well” feeling - I work out, try to eat well and am healthy otherwise

Yipes - I thought this was a tongue-in-cheek article - personally I actually am trying to figure out a way to get to Barcelona through house swapping for 2009 or 2010 and we will do it because we do love travel, but I must tell you that I also spend a lot of my time worrying about making this month’s mortgage payment so I am wincing as I say that the tone of this article has a flair of condescending the many of us struggling to see it all and do it all and still live indoors! I broke the glass ceiling in my profession too but unfortunately it’s in public service…alas…but I agree with your drink of choice in your bio (my husband makes the best and it’s a marriage-saver!)

Going to Church today for Good Friday and then again on Sunday - having family and friends for dinner (15 including us) - hide the kids’ baskets in the house for them to find, hide the plastic eggs for an afternoon race to find those - pretty low key and religious too - remember that eggs are a sign of rebirth so Easter eggs are not pagan!

who has the time? one is enough work - lol