Well, I can tell you what happens when you tumble dry a marmalade Persian for 15 minutes on permanent press... Thanksgiving eve a few years back, I took half a day off from work to make the trek home to PA for the feast. Was running around like a headless chicken trying to get the last of the laundry dried, suitcases packed and into the car, gathering up all the contributions to the feast, taking care of the DS and all those things that people do while their DH's (now XDH) take a shower. I couldn't find one of my running shoes and offered DS $5 if he found it. Maggie, the autistic dog, had a fondness for my shoes and I swore she hid it. We're searching and searching when I hear a thud...thud...thud...coming from the dryer. How in the heck did that little dog get the shoe in the dryer? I opened the door and there lay Sam, my marmalade Persion, looking like Bill the Cat from the old Bloom County comic strip! Even meowed like him...I'll never forget it. Blood coming from his mouth, eyes bugged out, he just laid there. I screamed, afraid to touch him because I just KNEW he was busted to pieces. So, I ran to the bathroom for the DH, screamed at him that Sam had been in the dryer for the past 15 minutes. Took him a second to realize what I was saying in my hysteria, he bolts nekked as a jaybird, shampoo in his hair, dripping water the whole way to the laundry room. Sam was still laying there looking like Bill. DH reached for him and I reached for the phone. I still had the vet on speed dial from when I had Casper the $5 million kitty. I get the receptionist on the phone and hysterically tell her that Sam had been in the dryer for the past 15 minutes. She told me to bring him right in, they'd be waiting. DH had wrapped Sam in an old towel, handed him to me, threw on some clothes and we were out the door and on the way to the vet within 5 minutes. We reached the vet in record time and they were waiting for us. My vet never shows any emotion, I use to think he was void of emotion, until now. The tech had taken Sam's temp, the doc walked in, looked at it, and immediately started to bark orders. Poor Sam's temp was 108 after riding in the car for 10 minutes in the cold November air. Vet started him on IV fluids, gave him a shot to help bring his temp down, gave him another shot to help keep his kidney from shutting down, and whisked him away. Then he looked at me and I thought the lecture was sure to follow. Instead, he put his arm around me and said "don't berate yourself, this happens all the time, he should be ok". Whew! Then he laughed and said "Poor guy just used up one of those 9 lives! You must have a padded dryer to not have heard him after two spins!" Well, what can I say? I hate doing laundry so I turn on the dryer and let it go. I don't hang around any longer than I have to! Five days later, we were handed a bald cat (they shaved him completely) and a bill for over $400. When his hair started to grow back, the hair on one ear that had been scraped and bleeding came in pure white. Since then, he's not only jumped in the dryer twice (I caught the sneaky devil tho!), he also jumped in the washer while it was filling and jumped in the dishwasher after DS emptied it. Some cats just never learn... Running a "Home for Wayward Cats" as I am these days, I've had a kitten crawl under the dishwasher and get one of the wires wrapped around her paw, one crawl in the freezer, another in the ice box, and I've had to wire tie my cupboards together to keep them out of the pots and pans, plastic ware and anything else in the lower cupboards. I had to move all the glass canning jars off the shelf where I keep them and swap them with all the canned goods in the pantry. I had one kitten who liked to tear the wallpaper off the wall, another one who liked to push the buttons on the answering machine, and another who was fascinated with turning on the kitchen sink faucet. I celebrated when I found homes for the last kitten...until I ended up with another pregnant stray who delivered two solid black kittens this past May. These two enjoy shredding the kitchen chair cushions and playing hide-n-seek with the throw carpets. Anyone want a kitten?

I have 2 children. With DS I have the opposite problem to you. DS still lives with us. He is making his way extremely slowly through college. He often has to take several months of breaks from school as he has physical disabilities and minor mental disabilities. We are hoping to get him financially independent but he is in his mid-30s and it might take another 10 years for that to happen. We are very proud of him that he has stuck to his guns in doing the computer programming course. He does know how to program now. DD is married and working her way through an apprenticeship in a career she chose and that suits her to a tee. I often have to remind myself that she is fine and has a good partner. She lives in the town next to ours. DSIL travels all the time and she goes with him about a quarter of that time. They will probably end up wherever his career takes them. Her career allows her to work from anywhere. It's ridiculous I know but I still miss her though we see one another every 2 or 3 weeks for breakfast. When I'm in your position it will take me awhile to get used to it!

True! I have goofy “decorative items” in pretty much every room, so I probably need him. Speaking of stuffed animals, my DS was obsessed with Richard Scarry books and characters when he was little. Until last week, his stuffed animal characters were still on the bookcase. I finally took them down and was ready to toss them in the Junk pile, but then I stupidly got teary. Had to stash them on the closet shelf instead. DS still keeps clothes in the closet for when he comes home to visit, so he will see the animals looking down from the shelf when he opens the closet. I’m such a sappy mom these days. ETA omg he’s out of stock!! Sad. Again.

DD doesn’t really know what firmness she’s want because she was just using an old mattress which we finally threw out. She did tell me her back hurts frequently. Her bed frame will require a box spring because it’s not a platform. I slept on my DS’s temperpedic while babysitting and hated it so much I moved to the couch. I felt “stuck” like I couldn’t move without a fight. I know she would hate that. I’ll try that Sleep like the Dead website.