Doug, I had a friend in MD send me cuttings a couple years ago. Interestingly the USPS thought the route from MD to FL included a side trip through TX, then onto CA, then back through CO, then finally onto FL. Also apparently they consider a package staying in a sort facility for over a week part of the trip. Supposedly they lost it, but then they found it. I mention this because the little tour of the US my cuttings took, was just under three weeks. Until it was "lost" it showed the route on the tracking. amusing in a sad kind of way. And the cuttings arrived fine, a little dehydrated, but they perked back up quickly. I still have every one of them. So, I'm thinking your package might have been left in the hot sun for a good bit of time. Did you use EMS or just regular international mail? Maybe that is the difference? When I get my order, I'll take pics, see what happens. Renee

Susie, I am so sorry. I wish you the best of luck with your Mother. I really believe you need to control your own life. You can make demands on your Mother. You can make demands on your siblings. It may take them a while to understand you are no longer a doormat but you need to do it. Do not take time off work to take your Mother to the Doctor, tell, don't ask her to either change the appointment or call a sibling. You don't need POA to talk to her Doctor, her Mother just needs to sign a release, if you go into the appointment with your Mother, consent is implied and you and the Dr. can talk along with your Mother unless she tells the Dr. not to say anything. I would tell her firmly no more shuttle to Dr. appointments without a release. Unfortunately, you can't do anything to make your Mother become more social, take an antidepressant or less nasty to you. You can change how you respond to it... and you really need to. In my situation, I had several very sick relatives and my sister took care of them all. My Aunt had ALS and was of sound mind but could not take care of her body. My sister did everything for her and my Aunt just expected it. Eventually my sister had to put her into a facility, my Aunt never forgave her, but the day after my Aunt moved out of the house, her 5yo daughter stopped wetting the bed. The stress my sister was under was incredible. You should take care of your Mother but you don't have to be her slave or respond to unreasonable demands. The sooner you stop the easier it will be either for your Mother to do a little better or another sibling to step in. Good luck. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Can I chime in as a parent of a fall birthday boy (cutoff is Dec. 2 in CA) and as an educator who did her thesis on this? (I chose this topic because of my personal interest in it) First - in public districts it is up to the discretion of the district to decide if this (academic redshirting) is allowed. Some districts allow it, some don't. If you are in a district that doesn't allow it, and decide to hold your child back and show up a year later to register your child for kindergarten, the district will place your child according to age and put him in first grade, completely missing kinder. So before you decide anything, FIND OUT if you have the freedom to make that decision at all. My son was born October 22, and we decided to start him in kindergarten on time, and in CA that meant he started at 4 1/2. CA requires that the child be 5 before December 2nd. We feel that we made the right decision. Academically, he was ready. Socially, he was good and totally done with preschool by the end of pre-K, and ready, willing, and eager to move on. We decided that we would start him in K but that if he didn't succeed, retaining him for another year (repeating K) would be our plan B. He did very well and moved on to first grade with his peers. He's now in 6th grade and just turned 11. He's doing well and is in the accelerated classes. Over the years he has gotten into a bit of trouble goofing off in class, but honestly - would that really have made a difference whether he was in 4th grade or 5th grade? Waiting that extra year in preschool is not some magical year in which the child suddenly becomes this mature studywart. If a kid is a goofball at 4, chances are he's still going to be a goofball at 6, 8, 10, 12, etc. If I had held him back, he would be 18 most of his senior year of high school - I'm not so sure that's a smart move. Many kids in his classes were held back even when they didn't need to be. He was born October 95. There is a kid that's been in many of his classes that was born April 94! Personally, I think it is wrong for a teacher to alter her curriculum to accomodate kids that could possibly be a full 18+ months OLDER than the kids that fall into the legal age range for that grade. There was a girl who was born in October in my daughter's kindergarten class last year. She came to the class at 4.5 (like my son), except she was already reading, writing, etc. Academically WAY ahead of the other kids. Socially about the same. But - her parents decided to hold her back to repeat another year of K "because she is young" - and now, at 6 and just started K again, she is complaining that her daughter is bringing home "this is the letter A" type of homework when she is already reading at around a 3rd grade level. What did she expect? If there was any kid that I think would have been the wrong candidate for academic redshirting, it was this girl. I think it is a total disservice to both the girl AND her teacher. Something to keep in mind. Kindergarten is DESIGNED for the 5 year old child. Not the 6 year old. Sure, a child "who is older" may have a better chance at success, but wouldn't any kid who is in a class that is too easy for him? I decided that I would have rather my son been around older kids and been challenged academically, rather than in a class where everything came totally easy for him. Behavior-wise, I would have again rather he been around older kids versus younger, where his behavior might regress. This is especially true if you are keeping a kindergarten-aged child in a preschool classroom, or a first-grade aged child in a kindergarten classroom. Kids tend to adapt to their environment. Personally, I would like to see states such as CA move their cutoff date to Sept. 1 to coincide with most of the rest of the nation, and ideally, to have all 50 states have the same cutoff. Similarly, I would like to see redshirting banned, except with special district approval for unique situations such as a special-needs child being mainstreamed, a child who is behind due to a long-term illness, or a child entering school with little to no previous schooling.

Hi Popi, Thanks for the link. I'll check it out. Hi Finedreams, Glad you quit smoking. :) I agree that telling kids that smoking is bad for you, and that it is illegal and that has a whole other set of issues associated with it. That's what I was trying to say with the water and headaches. I know my mom is right, and she is very well versed in health matters as a public health nurse, it's just that we were so anti- (any) drug/unhealthy items growing up, including pain medication like asprin, and that killer of millions- sugar! that I have a hard time when drugs aren't clearly defined and want my daughter to get the right language so she doesn't feel deceived later. Simply coming home and saying "drugs are bad" (well, what are drugs?) "drugs are cigarettes and beer and wine" is not effective teaching to me. They aren't giving the whole story, and I feel this is a disservice to my child. I disagree though, that "light drinking here and there can cause a serious damage" if the drinking is not associated with drugs or alcoholism. The Mayo Clinic, among other highly ranked establishments of health, validates that drinking red wine in moderation is good for the heart. In fact, in 1992 Harvard researchers included moderate alcohol consumption as one of the "eight proven ways to reduce coronary heart disease risk." http://www.ynhh.org/online/nutrition/advisor/red_wine.html I'm not advocating people going out and getting drunk, but I have seen the effects of the blanket NO on Drugs war and in my NSHO it doesn't work. A study by U.S. and New Zealand scientists has shown that about 3 million heart-disease-, stroke- and diabetes-related deaths are caused by high blood sugar levels each year world wide; one health author notes that the only way to raise blood sugar is by consuming sugars and refined carbohydrates. http://www.naturalnews.com/021037.html What would you say if someone told you that alcoholism has its roots in sugar addiction? Problems with overconsumption of alcohol often begin with eating habits as children. Since all alcoholic drinks contain sugar, it is a wonder that this association is often overlooked. Children are easily made to believe by their parents and other authority figures that various foods regularly eaten by the whole of society are actually good for them and contain substantive nutrition. Although sugar is not technically in the same category as alcohol or drugs, food with refined sugars and processed flour as well as candies and desserts represent the initial stepping stone to sugar consumption that can plateau out as alcohol abuse in adolescents and adults. http://agriculturesociety.wordpress.com/2006/10/17/alcohol-and-the-sugar-connection-just-in-time-for-halloween/