Dick, I found your post very interesting. I've read lots of questions about Mike and as you say, some are positive, many are negative. I have been searching libraries and the internet for a couple of years trying to find the information that I need to help me, my son and daughter start and run a small nursery. I sure wish we had somebody like you nearby to mentor us!!! It's a scary business world out there especially since I know so little about business stuff. I never had to work, my husband made plenty of money and I was able to homeschool our 3 kids. Then he was injured at work and is now on disability. Worker's Comp has not lived up to its promises but that's another story. The bottom line is that we have to make this nursery business work and we're doing our best. I appreciate you and all the folks on this and other forums who have given helpful advice. I appreciate the folks at the local SCORE and Small Business office. I need every bit of good advice I can get LOL!

From Oprah's website (love my Adblocker!) A wise woman and her young disciple were walking down the street. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an angry man in a carriage drove haphazardly by the two, insensitively pushing the woman out of his way. She landed in a ditch filled with muddy water. The woman yelled after the man in the carriage, "May you have everything you want!" The disciple, surprised by the wise woman's response, said: "I'm confused. Why did you say that to a man with such horrible behavior?" The woman replied, "Because a happy man wouldn't have thoughtlessly pushed a woman into a ditch." Do you agree with this woman's response? In my book The Bounce Back Book, I offer empowering strategies for embracing forgiveness and liberating yourself from anger and bitterness�"even in the most challenging situations. Here are eight strategies to free you from your resentments starting today! Say a Prayer Whenever angry feelings about a person who's harmed you enter your mind, tell yourself: "We are all good, loving souls who occasionally get lost." Pray for this person to find their way back to a happier place�"in the same way the woman in this story prayed for her offender. Focus on Gratitude Resist seeking happiness from the outside in. Instead, focus on gratitude exercises to bring happiness from the inside out. If you allow your self-image to be at the mercy of unpredictable events and unreliable people, your happiness will be forever on a chaotic roller coaster ride! Happiness must always be an inside joy! When you are tempted to focus on all the ways the world has done you wrong, instead count your blessings by making a list of the five aspects of your life that you appreciate. It is good practice to purposefully end your day this way to keep focused. Look for the Lesson Many Buddhists consider huge difficulties to be a sign you're an old soul�"the bigger your misfortunes, the closer you are to enlightenment. Whether you believe this or not, it's certainly cheery to reframe all your life's bad events as tests of your character. If you feel particularly tested right now, ask yourself what the heck you're being tested for! Patience? Compassion? Resilience? Forgiveness? Open-mindedness? What strengths must you develop further? Now consciously go out there and develop them! Maintain Perspective If you're going through a challenging time, remind yourself that this specific event is merely a part of your life�"not your "whole" life. Consciously keep this "slice of life" perspective, and don't let the event overwhelm you. As the song goes, "The best is yet to come!" Learn the Lesson Develop a "student not victim" mentality. Vow not only to disentangle yourself from emotionally harmful situations, but also to consciously avoid similar situations in the future. Let Go of Resentment Keep in mind a fabulous Carrie Fisher quote: "Resentment is the poison you swallow hoping the other person will die." Recognize that when you resent someone, you are not only hurting yourself, you're also giving this person control of your emotions�"and you don't want to give this person bubkes! Stay Centered Recognize that when you respond with hate to hate, anger to anger, bitterness to bitterness, you are ironically becoming part of the problem. Choose to resist becoming like them and instead put in the conscious effort to remain a loving, soulful, happy person. Get Revenge Positively Contemplating revenge? The best kind of revenge is living a successful, happy life. If you train yourself to consistently be more loving in thoughts and actions, your energy will attract more positive people and positive results. As Albert Einstein said, "You can't solve a problem by staying in the same energy in which it was created." To stay focused on highly positive thoughts, repeat this meditation ritual throughout the day: "Love, forgiveness, letting go, peace." Karen Salmansohn is a best-selling author known for creating self-help for people who wouldn't be caught dead reading self-help. Get more information on finding a loving happier-ever-after relationship in her book

Hi Everyone, Wow, it's been a revelation reading your posts. I can commiserate. I've been dating a man for a little over two years. He has 3 children, and the 12 year old daugther (the oldest) is giving me problems suddenly. I have two kids, so we're talking FIVE kids here. Anyway...we waited a LONG time to meet each others' kids and introduce the kids. We all me last May, which was a year and three quarters into our relationship. It could not have gone more beautifully! We've gotten the kids together about 6 times since then, and we are always careful to be sure that we don't occupy every weekend we have our kids TOGETHER; it's important that my kids have alone time with me, and important that his kids have alone time with him. Last month, the sweetest thing happened....his 12 year old said "I love you" to me! It floored me!! She has always attached herself to me, wants to be in MY car to talk to me (rather than her fathers....heck, we have to take 2 cars with 5 kids!), and talks non stop about stuff with a lot of smiles. ALL OF THE SUDDEN..BOOOOOM! This past weekend I was at his house helping take care of his kids while he met a deadline (he's a tax attorney), and as soon as I got there I was met with coldness from her. I was kind of floored. She was misbehaving with her younger siblings, and he saw all of this. He tried talking to her a few times and she keps saying "I'm just tired". Well, finally he had it and they went in a room to talk. She started venting and crying about how her life has changed, she wants him to move closer (he's 30 minutes away). He handled it beautifully with her. I went in to talk to her at another time, as well, and just told her that she can always talk to me, even if it's about me, and that it's important that she get her feelings out and not bottle them up. I also told her that I understood if she didn't want me there that weekend because we've been seeing each other a lot lately, but I was only there because dad was in a pinch and I was helping. She told her dad later on that she "didn't want to talk to HER, because SHE"S the one I'm mad at!!!". I had given her some books as a gift, and she told him "Why did she even give me that? I didn't want it! I told her I didn't want it!". So, how is it...HOW is it that a month ago this little girl tells me she loves me, a few days prior she was telling me all about her first dance, and then BOOM...she doesn't like me? I'm really frightened that this will tear apart our relationship! THe divorce and ensuing time has been fraught with nastiness and bitterness from her mom, who never ceases to badmouth my bf in front of the kids (and in front of whomever happens to be around, even at PTA meetings...it's awful). My bf and I think (are pretty damn sure) that this badmouthing has now been about me, as well, and GOSH only knows what she would be telling this child! I can't control his ex (neither can he, apparently, which is also driving me nuts), and I certainly can't control his daughter. Tonight when I asked him how she could suddenly not like me, how could she have said "I love you" just a month ago, he said, "well, maybe the i love you was just a reflex because she's used to saying it before she says goodbye to people". I was just hurt by that....it feels like he took that away from me, dismissed it as a 'mistake'! And, he couldn't understand why I got hurt! Any advice? I'm at the BEGINNING of this stuff that you guys have been through already, and it sounds like some of you have gotten through it with your relationship in tact. My bf is a wonderful person, and I don't want to lose him, yet I feel rather hopeless. After all, this is the 1st of 5 kids who will all become teens and go through this stuff! With the ex having the kids the vast, vast majority of the time and able to influence them without conscience, I feel like he and I have yet one MORE mountain to climb. It's bad enough dealing with the ex and her antics. Advice....please?

I'm also late to this topic and Jilly, big hugs to you and your family. Has your daughter checked out storm shelters, maybe paying a monthly amount? I wonder if they're cheaper in the off season which should be any day now, you'd think. This May is the first time we've been in our cellar in years. I can't even think when we were last down there & this month OK had so many tornadoes it's unbelievable. So far we had one a few miles past us which I took a photo of, two weeks ago there was one about 4 miles away coming straight towards us then it lifted, and a few days later there was a tornado one mile south of us. Had it moved one mile north which their movement is generally NE, no telling what would have happened. All of them at night! And more tonight, tomorrow night and on and on. The only plus is I found my favorite water bottle that'd been missing for a few years. :) BTW, I saw a trailer for the new Twister movie which was filmed in my area, and it was THE stupidest thing ever. All these people were at a rodeo in OK when a twister suddenly hits. Oklahomans are weather aware & we close shop early if we know bad storms will arrive within hours, and no way no how would anyone go to a rodeo. Right, Ollie? :)