Good morning! :-) Thank you for all your well wishes. I seem to be on the mend, just not quite there and trying to be careful not to try to get back to normal activities too fast. I ended up getting over the worst of it with one night of muscle relaxers and one pain pill, but just like you Kathy, I am very sensitive to these types of meds too. The muscle relaxers really didn't help much at all, just made me feel spacey and the one pain pill had my stomach reacting. So that was the end of the meds. Makes me wonder how anyone gets hooked on pain meds. [g] Gardenbug....so sorry to hear you have had yet more bad news in your family. I can't imagine how any of you could handle more stress. It does seem like when it rains it pours sometimes. We have had that happen more times than I can count and I usually end up feeling like what choice do I have, but to do the best I can with it and not expect too much from myself. From the little you have posted, you seem to be doing just that. Eden....it is great to see you posting. I always enjoy hearing about what is going on at your house. Yes, long car rides are really hard on my muscles now. I used to really love a good long car ride so I find that really annoying. [g] A 'Julie Job'....I like the latest Idyll-ism. :-) I like the way you organize yourself Julie. My mother liked to have everything spic and span, especially the kitchen and baths, but clutter, was always something she struggled with. Company coming would always spur us on to get everything just so. She used to tell me stories of how her Mom used to be a very fussy house cleaner. They would do Spring and Fall cleaning every year and everyone helped. They had feather mattresses, that would be taken apart, the fabric washed, dried on the line and then sewn back up, all the curtains and throw rugs would get washed and everything was ironed. The kitchen would get pulled apart and put back together again. It was another world, wasn't it? Our son made cookies this week. Just what I need while I am lying around doing nothing. :-) Oatmeal, coconut, walnut, chocolate chip. Very hard to resist with the fragrance floating through the whole house. I think I have done well to have had two out of the whole batch. Still, I was already putting on weight before my back. Really need to start moving again. DH has helped out and made a pot of Minestrone Soup, which was delicious and nutritious. We have started adding chopped up leafy greens...Kale...for the added calcium. Makes a wonderful lunch with a Tablespoon of Grated cheese. Very fall like too. Soon we will have to make a Pot Roast. I can't catch up, I'm too far behind, but I have done some reading and enjoy very much, hearing about everything going on with all of you. Friday again...amazing how fast the time is going by. October! Three more months left of 2008, anyone have any 2008 goals they are trying to finish before the end of the year? Hope to be up and out early tomorrow to 'watch' DH and son play musical plants for me. It is supposed to be gorgeous weather. Enjoy the day! pm2

I do know what eclectic means, and now that I think of it, I realize that it wasn't literally being misused. But I do think it's often used when people want to show how interesting and difficult to peg they are. Although, now that I think of it, I suppose I just assume that most people have eclectic tastes, so it's not something you'd bother to bring up, since it's the norm. (Though I do love learning which specific combination of things appeals to an individual.) Dilly Dally, maybe you're right, and I'm fortunate enough to be surrounded by people who appreciate all sorts of things. Well, at least you guys have got me thinking. I must admit to having a knee-jerk negative reaction to the word "eclectic," and I'll try to temper that in the future.

Don't You Quit When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you're trudging seems all uphill When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit- Rest if you must, but don't you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns, As every one of us sometimes learns, And many a fellow turns about When he might have won had he stuck it out. Don't give up though the pace seems slow- You may succeed with another blow. Often the goal is nearer than It seems to a faint and faltering man; often the struggler has given up When he might have captured the victor's cup; And he learned too late when the night came down, How close he was to the golden crown. Success is failure turned inside out- The silver tint in the clouds of doubt, And you can never tell how close you are, It might be near when it seems afar; So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit- It's when things seem worst that you must not quit. *************************************************** He has been through so much hard stuff, that he must not quit now. He is so close to an age that he can build the life he wants. Help him to have hope in the future, that he has survived hard times, but he is almost there. help him to find a passion and a dream to hang in there for. Can he take the pain and write songs? Can he start a garage band where they can earn money on weekends? Something to help him get past the feeling of hopelessness, and get excited about the future and invest himself in it? I wish I had more to offer, but this is for those with much more wisdom than I have.

As a mom, I understand your wife's feelings. I have two sons ~ 20 & 23. The 23 left at 18 because he didn't like my rules, he came back several times because he couldn't loaf in any one place very long... but when I allowed him to come back, he ALWAYS had conditions! Had to find a job... spend his day looking, not sleeping all day. He had to do chores... more chores if he wasn't working because he had more time. He had to pay $50 a week. and he had to follow our house rules.. no staying up all night watching movies or playing video games, clean up after yourself, and he could only fix himself meals when we were preparing our meals. (He was welcome to eat what we were having but if he didn't like it, he could fix himself something else... but he could only do so when I was making dinner~ not after all the dinner dishes were done & kitchen was clean, because even though he had to clean up after himself, he is not very good at it so we'd end up having to do it over.) Consequently, my son CHOSE to not stay with me very long.. usually a few weeks & he'd find someone's couch. That's why he came back several times. We stuck to our conditions and he kept coming back, hoping we'd let him slide. He eventually joined the military and has matured a lot in the last two years. But, I am also going through it with my 20 year old son... having to stay firm & consistent with the rules. If they don't like it, they are "adult" age and can go do something else. You should not feel like a prisoner in your own home & suspect your wife agrees but it's her son & she doesn't want to turn him away, but maybe is conflicted because she remembers how bad it was when he was there before... I feel for her. Oh yeah, if he is leaving Dad's because he doesn't like the rules or being told what to do, does he think it will be different in your home? I think this is one time you & your wife should get together with Dad & stepmom to have the same rules/expectations in both houses.