I am so sorry for your loss. Nothing said or done helps,but I do care, that you've had to go through this traumatic experience. My Mom died of ovarian cancer July 3rd 2009. She had the surgery followed by chemo treatments, it was in remission for 4 years. Only to come back again about a year and a half later. More chemo, tons of tests, they switched chemo treatments a few times. We got her into one of the best cancer treatment centers and the end result was, she still died. I seen my mom go through so much with the chemo treatments so I understand your mom's not wanting to go through it =/ I would of insisted Mom do chemo, too simply cause I couldn't bear to lose her. It hurts. It hasn't gotten better so far. In fact sometimes it seems to get worse as I realize, I've never gone without talking to her for so long. I really hope it does get easier for the both of us. Like you my Mom was pretty much all I had. Never been close to my Dad.

I have loved reading all the posts and gives me comfort that there are a lot of people who are experiencing the same thing as me. I too miss both my parents, still. My mom died 9 years ago from ovarian cancer and my Dad died 6 years ago after a long battle with renal failure and being on dialysis as a result. I cared for both my parents for years while they were ill. We had always been close and saw each other almost every day of my life. The last few years we all lived together while I was working full time, married and raising two boys. I was so busy with everything that I did not have time to stop and think about what was going to happen when they were gone. I miss them terribly every day and wish I would have just stopped and talked for hours on end to them while they were ill instead of doing the laundry, cleaning the house or grocery shopping or cooking. I am thankful I was able to provide them a safe home to live in and never had to place either one in a nursing home. Both boys are now grown and away from home, my husband works out of town a lot and recently my Uncle (my Mom's brother) has moved in with us after having several mini strokes and can no longer live alone. This has brought back the memories of caring for my Mom and Dad and makes me miss them more and more. I still work full time and this was a huge adjustment as my husband & I were just getting used to being empty nesters and had begun taking trips. We have adjusted accordingly and I am thankful once again that I am able to give my Uncle the care he needs without going to a nursing home. Grief can only be dealt on a day to day basis. Sometimes I can handle it and sometimes I just need a good cry. I think about all the great times we had and that makes me happy, but then the grief creeps back in because I can no longer talk to, smile at, laugh with, cry with or hug my parents ever again. My only comfort is knowing I will see them again one day in Heaven and that is what keeps me going day to day.

Definitely. That style is a bit like the one on the Rachel Ray set, though not the same color. (And, needless to say, your kitchen is nothing like hers.) But if you want to kind of squinch up your eyes, you can use your imagination. Glass tile obviously comes in a lot of sizes and finishes -- that little glittery type to big glossy ones, so you should be able to find exactly what you want. Those look like they'd both meld well with your greenery-yallery hallway. Just don't get too hung up on matching. Go for "complementing". I think it's a look that mixes well with a variety of styles. It's just modern enough. And, not that you need reassurance, but I think it's masculine. It doesn't scream "my ex picked this out!". You're getting there.

My privacy and freedom is not for sale. I'm a good defensive driver and my record shows it. However I would be penalized for driving in the wee hours. Anyone who drives in heavy commute traffic understands the necessity of hard braking (I should s simply plow into the idiot who cut me off?) People who understand how controlling your vehicle works also understand the need for occasional sudden acceleration to get out of a situation that may cause a collision. This system doesn't reward you for how well you drive but penalizes those that drive safely and skillfully under adverse conditions. Meanwhile it doesn't penalize people who are texting, eating, applying make-up, driving so slowly as to endanger those around them, tailgating, running stop signs, making unsafe left turns into oncoming traffic, not merging at the speed of traffic, are clueless at a four way stop or uncontrolled intersection or all the stupid stuff bad drivers do. So because I drive at night, avoid hitting idiots, know how to swerve around something without losing control, drive in heavy traffic and put a lot of miles on my vehicle I would be penalized. Looks like profiling the environment the driver is in rather than the driver's skills. BTW Progressive has reversed themselves. They announced at the end of last year that they will be using this "technology" to raise rates as well as lower them.