[Maria]

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.. well not that your hub is your enemy but you know what I mean re this saying.

I have a quick temper as well tho know when to hold it in terms of negotiating and if it's going to serve me to do so.

We can take this to regular email or private mail. I actually like pm feature here better so we can use that if you'd like.

I agree w/Dale re your daughter may not want to go to counseling tho it does really sound like it would be of benefit to her. It's like anyone who is in denial re their own problems and thinks there's no benefit to something of this nature. She's really too young to know better what would benefit her tho I think maybe she should "have to."

I'm sure the therapists have their ways to engage teens (she's a teen isn't she?) into talking. Once she starts going she may find it really a good outlet for her feelings that she doesn't have now.

I think sometimes we are too close to our family members to make the best decision for them at the best time at least without some help or input from others and with this regard with a professional. Then again not having kids I could be wrong there but I know many parents feel they don't want to "force" something on their child and yet it may be that intervention now would be extremely helpful or that it's a critical time.

After all this is considered rather a crisis time in your life and your child's with the event of a parent leaving and parents talking about divorce.

Ok I know I've said too much probably. And your schedule is just tooo much Miss Judy!

Judy are you near any public transportation re your kids taking the bus to the grocery store or to school or ?? If it's like where my husband lives there isn't a bus stop for a mile and a half and the closets shops are over 2 miles away. He is in a nice area tho and if I were a youngster I'm sure I could walk that far though I might not exactly like to.

I don't know the area you live in at all so have no idea what it's like re walking or public transportation. Here in LB it's very good and where I'd like to live in San Diego it is as well. Getting to stores by various methods other than driving is very easy without a vehicle and in the daytime I don't hesitate at all. Would not walk around in the dark to stores altho there are plenty of little local buslines that take people back and forth thru out town and I think are safe enough.

Be good to yourself Judy! No one else will do it for you!