SnarkyShark

I am sorry for your loss. Grief is a tricky business, and I think it's hard to say whether or not it is normal to experience something after a loss because we all grieve differently. From observing my mom after we lost my grandma (my grandma died at 65 and my mom was 41 at the time), I know that she experienced a devastating sense of loss that took a while to subside. Honestly, my mom was a wreck for about a year or so, and regaining a sense of normalcy took her about eighteen months to two years. My mom did not cry frequently in front of her us kids, but I know it was an extremely difficult period for her. Holidays were hard. Birthdays were hard. Milestones were hard. As a kid, I saw my mom doing her best to cope and how it drained her, resulting in her being very emotionally distant during that time. Death is hard on the people left behind, in my experience. It's okay to give yourself time to grieve. Finding normal again takes time, and I know you'll get there. It might just not be right away. There's no right way to feel or react, in my book, especially when you've lost a person who has been a part of your life since the beginning.

That is what the pool I worked at recommended. I'm not sure if they were necessarily rubber pants, but they definitely recommended a second, reusable layer under your standard swim diaper, which worked well to help contain accidents should the swim diaper not fit properly or not be fully sealed. That I don't understand either, FLORIDAMOM. If I recall correctly, Land's End makes a nice range of swimwear that would fit the Duggars' modesty standards, like long sleeve rashguards and swim skirts. I also taught private swim lessons for three years. The youngest kids my pool offered lessons for were three year olds. At that age, the focus is water safety and ensuring that the kids feel comfortable in the water. I worked with kids on kicks, holding their breath, blowing bubbles, back floating, and going underwater. One thing I taught kids to do if they got in water that was too deep to stand in was to bounce off/jump off the bottom and take a breath each time their mouth broke the surface. Basically, the goal was to give them a tool they could use if they got in a trouble spot--rather than panic straightaway and frantically inhale a bunch of water. This buys either a lifeguard or an adult time to get to the kid, mainly. (Like what @Jynnan tonnix said. Arm's length was the distance a parent had to be from a non-swimming child in the pool I worked at.) Honestly, in my experience, no three year old is going to become a perfect swimmer and master all four strokes. The best thing you can do is make sure they feel comfortable in the water, teach them a few basics about swimming, and help them learn water safety techniques. A lot of this has to do with motor coordination development as well. Kids have better developed coordination at age five or six, which is when they really start being able to pick up swimming strokes or just swim on their own for longer distances in general.

If this thread title ever gets renamed, I hope it contains a "yay" for posterity. Ya know, like, "Derick has no Job, Yay!"

Interesting, and I second that the company supplying the hardware may set recommendations for surgery. Your relative-in-law sounds as though he may have had a job similar to that of my uncle, who worked for a company that sold medical hardware for orthopedic surgeries (metal plates and screws for setting bones rather than hips) up until several months ago. Basically, his job involved ensuring that the install was performed properly and went off without any hitches. He had to know and understand the hardware sufficiently to see that its usage would be supported by its design. He ended up quitting when he and my aunt started their own business.

Since I'm probably headed to hell as well, I think I'll take some teak wood. If it's firey, then I can find a steamy vent and make a sauna.

It's definitely a struggle for some people. We all know people who may not stand out as particularly stylish or fashion savvy but who still look good in the day to day and understand the basics of a decent outfit. On the other hand, there are the Jills of the world who possess no conception of color, fit, and pairing garments together. These are the people whose outfits typically provoke reactions of "yikes." One girl I go to school with is definitely fashion impaired, and her outfits frequently make me want to scream. Here's the thing: she doesn't play it safe and just stick to a basic combination of blue jeans, tshirts, and sneakers—a nice "fail safe". This girl has worn all of the above and managed to have it look rather atrocious. Imagine this ensemble: pale pink skinny jeans, dark grey and teal Nike sneakers (the less expensive kind), a purpleish tshirt of some kind, and a dark magenta down jacket. It wasn't good to say the least. She is someone who struggles with fit in addition to color. Even when I've seen her in more formal outfits, she always looks kind of frumpy. Now, she is definitely a smart girl (she has played chess on an international level), but fashion is not one of her talents. I wouldn't dare say this to her because it would come across as mean, but the honest advice I have for her is that she really ought to find a stylist to help her with work wear once she finishes her math degree, especially if she has high career ambitions.

Good point. JB is fooling himself if he thinks his surname brings credibility to ANY enterprise. My first instinct would be to avoid anything advertised or associated with the Duggar name. I suppose it's fitting because Duggar is to RV park as Hilton is to hotel.

While I'm only one of three, my mom has employed a similar system ever since I can remember. Before a family trip, she would print out a packing list for each of us kids, and we were in charge of laying out and packing our clothing and toiletries according to that list. My mom demonstrated how to roll up our clothing and put it in our suitcases, and all of us could pack our stuff on our own by age six or seven.

Sending good wishes your way, @MyPeopleAreNordic! I know all of us here in the Prayer Closet will be fellowshipping together as we witness God's grace and pray that He will save you. I'll scrounge up some pickles and brownies for sustenance, even. I'm also here like @Temperance, rethinking my kind of Christianity. I have such a hard time with the Catholic Church's sexism, and it's a frustration that doesn't go away, really. I'm reluctant to completely turn my back on the Church because it is the only source I have for a sense of culture.

According to my mom, at age three the dentist could tell that I would need braces. He was right, and I had braces for a total of four years. By the the time I was Josie's age, it was obvious that my teeth were problematic (overbite, crowding, gaps). So I don't think it's necessarily too early to tell. Seriously, thank God for modern orthodontia. My mother and father had braces for a respective seven and eight years, so the genetic odds weren't necessarily in my favor, and I managed to inherit a delightful combination of teeth issues.

Bay Area resident here. You could easily buy a decent house, all cash, in many parts of the US for what a down payment costs here. Even the tiniest of what would probably be considered "starter homes" costs over $1 million in my immediate area. The market is insane.

Derelict, planes HAVE to fly that high to safely avoid things like, oh, I don't know, that mountain you and your inept wife are kissing on top of!

Your flip flops are older than some of the Duggar children.

I have no idea which Duggar kid it is, but the one on the left closest to the camera cracks me up. With his hands on his hips and his beret, he is trying to make that t-shirt "survivable". Newsflash: there is no way to make it cool. At all. I find it ironic how Derelict complains about CNN "using" kids to push their liberal agenda, when in reality the Parkland students are advocating for THEIR OWN agenda. These students survived a horrible tragedy and have decided to work to prevent another such event from ever happening. Derelict insults these survivors and their efforts by equating them to pawns used to push a political agenda. The Parkland students are using their experiences to create change. They understand advocacy far better than Derelict.

Flip flops are convenient and cheap, so cheap that you don't need to "save the difference". I would guess that Duggar-type flip flops would not hold up well enough to be passed on anyways. Personally, I do not find flip flops to be the most comfortable. I converted to Tevas two years ago, and during the summer I either wear those or Sperrys. I'm a lifeguard, and most people wear flip flops or slides while working, including leather flip flops. My Tevas may not be the most fashionable, but they are far more comfortable and supportive; it does not hurt to walk after a shift with lots of standing. I also don't have to worry about getting them wet.