Oh, it was a radio clip! I thought I'd read it in print. I don't know how you do this, Brainy, but you're a marvel. Thank you!

Dr Harley's fast driving comes up frequently on that show! It is too funny!

I learned from Mel.



Hopefully CWMI will like it!

Mr. CWMI didn't! I loved it, ty! I think we are in another brain fart cycle. Luckily, I am Chuck Norris about this stuff, or maybe Clint Eastwood? Either way, get with the program or get offa my lawn.

That would be Clint Eastwood in Gran Turino, ma'am.

My favorite is the one where on the way into the radio station that morning, Dr. Harley decided to try to take his sweater off in traffic in a construction zone. Joyce was NOT enthusiastic about that, and he said she may have even been a little demanding and disrespectful!!!



(By the way, around here, we call that activity "Pulling a Del Griffith," and Prisca is usually not too enthusiastic about it, either, for some reason.)

I feel better today.

I am also petrified of driving/riding next to concrete barriers on the freeway, and he's been awesome about being mindful about that. Last weekend we went out to a real nice dinner, just the two of us in the city, and on the way home he passed a car, putting us next to the wall, and without me saying a word, he said, "Just for a second, as soon as I get past this guy, I'll move back over." And he did, and I thanked him, and he wasn't speeding or anything.

With the boat, we were told it was the most efficient at 3500rpm. As some of you may remember, Steve felt that H showed qualities of OCD. I think that may part of the issue here, that H tries to keep it at 3500rpm whether conditions warrant it or not. I can't see him hearing that his car is most efficient at 60mph and attempting to maintain that speed in traffic or on a dirt road or a mountain pass. I don't know how many of you are boaters, but getting into cruiser wake at 3500rpm(about 30mph) is like driving down a rutted dirt road at 60mph, lol.

We talked about the dog people--I told him I felt unsupported when he said I was rude to them, when I felt they were rude by refusing to accomodate our comfort by leashing their dog in public, and then that girl mocking me. He said he didn't want it to end up in a fight, and I get that, it's part of our personality differences. I've already had words with a couple on the dock about leashing their dog that was in my (leashed) dog's face that security got involved in. He is the peacekeeper and I am the poop-stirrer, at least when it comes to complete strangers.

Most of the time, it works for us. He admires me for standing up when he would rather walk away, I appreciate his calming sense that has probably kept me out of more brawls than any middle-aged woman should ever get close to, much less start. Lol.

Funny, I HATE my H's in traffic driving! He follows too close, does not feel the need to break, or even slow down just because the guy ahead of us is breaking! Yikes! Then he is angry at other drivers, and has little AO's (but swears he is just "venting") it makes me nuts. I tend to get a bit demanding, and disrespectful from this. UGH.

CWMI, I am terrified of the cement barriers too! I also have a huge fear of cliffs, so much so that we have a beautiful lake that we can't go to because the road is soooo narrow with a HUGE drop off. My H is very good about accommodating these concerns for me, just not the in traffic stuff.

We also struggle with POJA "on the fly" although we can come back in and discuss later.

Great long weekend out. We came upon some cruiser wake and H pulled back on the throttle, and I was all, "You don't have to stop." *snicker*

He did great. He also got some "alone time" on the boat to open it up. I get plenty of alone time on it during the week, and he complained that he doesn't get the time I have because he is at work, but there were a few hours where I and two of the kids had to be elsewhere. He'll have time again in early fall when I am in school. He recently got a regular weekday off, but usually doesn't take the full day, so yesterday was his first weekday on the lake. Now he's hooked. On the weekend, there are thousands of boaters on our lake. Yesterday afternoon? We saw, at most, a dozen. Heaven!

Sweet!

I know some of you have enjoyed the sermons at my church, so I want to share the current series here, cause we have both been enjoying it a great deal: http://northpointministries.org/futurefamily/watch

Let me just preface this by saying that things have been going very well; we date like teenagers, our conflict resolution is 'through the roof' when compared to our old way of resolving conflicts, and I really, really feel loved these days. He is VASTLY more O&H.

However, we had an issue that I would like advice on, because while it seems settled, I still feel a little unsettled and frankly, I want someone to talk me out of physical violence.

Here's the sitch: Twice a week, my husband takes the kids to the bus stop in the morning because I have to leave early to get to school myself. We have some new folks in the neighborhood who use our stop. One of them is a woman with a young daughter, ~3 years younger than any of our children, so kindergarten or first grade. I'd seen them at the stop, but never talked with them (I drive up there, as everyone else does--some do it because of distance, I do it because then I don't have to get dressed, lol). H started going up there (My classes started a couple weeks after theirs), and came home one evening telling me that woman with young daughter told him that she had trouble getting to work on time after waiting for the bus, and if he didn't mind, would he keep an eye on her daughter if he was going to be up there? H told her, sure, either him or his wife (me) would be up there always, no problem.

I thought initially that it was weird, who leaves their daughter on a street corner with a strange man? But okay, we have a nice neighborhood and we have several neighbors with whom we share child-care duties in tight situations. So, to make sure I was approachable for HER to make such a request of ME, I walked up there the next day, like my H does.

*crickets*

She sat in her car with her daughter until the bus came.

I waited WEEKS for this woman to approach me, or one of the other two mothers at the stop, but nope...she has never said a word to any of us. She comes up there with her daughter and sits in her car and waits for the bus. But when my H is there, according to our children, she pulls up, lets the kid out, waves to my H and drives off.

Hmm.

I told H he needed to stop it. I was not comfortable with my H 'doing favors' for a woman who only asked him, and doesn't speak to ANY of the mothers, most especially the wife of the man from whom she asked a favor. Also, it stinks like a trap to me. Who leaves their daughter with a man, but won't ask a mother for the same favor? It seems...predatory.

So, after a bit of discussion, my H finally told her that he could not be responsible for her daughter and that she had put him in an uncomfortable position, and asked her why she had never talked to his wife? She said she just didn't think of it. ????

Now I want to rip her out of her car by her hair. When H stopped waving off and accepting responsibility for her daughter was a couple of weeks ago, and the woman has YET to say a word to me. Which concerns me a great deal. I realize she does not have great judgment to begin with, but should I confront her? I feel like she owes me an apology for using my husband, and I would be a very happy gal to know that she was sorry for inadvertently causing ANY discourse in our home (the awkward position, his wife).

But it's just *crickets*. So I want to beat the crap out of her, beat into her head that you don't leave your daughter with strange men, and you don't ask other women's husbands for favors.

Help! My natural inclination is something like, set her house on fire.

I feel like my H was doing something that he or I would do, I just don't like the one-sidedness of the whole thing.

This woman's behavior is really bizarre. I am thinking either she is interested in your husband or she is trying to set him up for something.

And I agree, you don't ask other women's husbands for favors!

"Help! My natural inclination is something like, set her house on fire. "

LOL!! Totally get that.

Hi CWMI.

My .02? Seems that your H and you POJA�d what to do about her behavior, and then carried through.
Not trying to minimize the situation AT ALL, but to draw an analogy of sorts�

If you are out at dinner, and a woman at an adjoining table shamelessly flirts with your H, you both POJA that H will request that she stop, she does, and you decide to go on and have a nice dinner, that�s a good outcome, no? That said, if you and your H POJA that you get up and go crack her across the face, well, probably not the best outcome.

Here�s my point: you�re never going to �correct� all of the intentional or unintentional stupidity out in the world, so I�d think that you confronting this dopey-dee-dope and the consequences of doing so for you guys and your kids should be weighed. Is it worth it? That�s for you 2 to decide.

Me? I�d say �Meh. Not worth it.� And, I can be a bit feisty. Choose you battles?

Sounds like you and H are on the same page?

P.S.,

Now, if she continues to persue dialogue with H, that's a different story, but if *crickets* continues on Monday through forever, good! Message sent and recieved. Game over.

Thanks, ya'll. I knew it was weird from the get-go. I still feel like if it were me, and I asked a favor from a neighbor's husband, and found that it had caused an issue for their wife, I would run, RUN over there apologizing. I worked on the HOA for a few years, and one of the men came over to install a program I would need on our computer, but I don't know how his wife felt about that; I did tell him to come at a time my husband would be home. Another time, my car broke down and I went next door to ask if they could give me a ride to the rental place because I needed to borrow a car for a few days. The husband took me, but the wife was there and gave blessing, we've known each other almost 13 years.

So I get helping out your neighbors.

I don't get asking a strange man to watch your daughter. I don't get not asking another mother instead.

If I find out that she continues talking to my H (which she wasn't, not after the initial asking him to watch her, she just dropped the kid and left!) I will definitely bring the guns and swingy stuff and wreak havoc on her world.

She is single. I do know that.

Sounds like a plan...keep the gas cans at bay.

Can I kick a pumpkin off her porch?

Can I just jump outta my car and give her the "I'm watchin you" fingers, my index and middle to me, then to her, and then peel off in my minivan? lol.

*sigh* Thug suburbia, it's a rough place to be.

I also have neighbors where we ask for help from each other a lot. I live in the middle of nowhere in a really small community, so everyone knows everyone. I am single, and my neighbor's kid cuts my grass each year and feeds my cat when I am away. On occasion we borrow tables for parties, etc., but I never communicate with the H...only wife, for almost 9 years. W will say "H will be over in 15 minutes", etc.

Not everyone operates this way...if they don't, lose em'.

No, don't do any of those things. Very immature, CMWI.

Just drive-by egg her house and be done with it.