Kayla, please think about what your Daddy would want for you, and try to live your life in that way. I suspect he would want you to give up the bar. After I lost my daughter I felt a strong urge to drink. I'd never felt that way before. Fortunately, I remembered the story of an aunt of mine who lost her daughter at around the same age. My aunt took up drinking, and ended up drinking herself to death. I knew my Jill would not want that for me, nor would my other children. So I resisted the urge, and eventually it passed. You're going through the worst of the grief right now. I encourage you to look for signs from your father. You may be surprised at what you find. Susan

What lovely mamas, and what a lovely thread where we can honor and remember them. My mom has been my best friend for just about as long as I can recall. I have distinct memories of her putting me on the handlebars of her bicycle when I was very little (around the age I am in the photo below) and riding around the neighborhood. One of our favorite things to do was to go to the historic cemetery near our home, and I can still practically feel the sweet summer mornings in the air when I remember. It was peaceful and pretty there, and I got to where I would ask, "Mama, can we go see if anybody 'new' died today?" Sounds morbid. It wasn't. :-) I went through typical teenage rebellion where I thought I knew it all and she knew absolutely nothing. I'll never forget walking in the mall with her when I was 14 and making some smart-arse comment. She'd had enough of me, because she reached over and popped me hard on the butt. I was mortified, believing I was much too old to be treated like a child. Oh, how much I still had to learn about "my place" in the world! There's almost never a day that goes by where she and I don't have some form of communication. We only live about 5 minutes apart, but because of busy schedules we don't get to see each other that often. Email or phone calls keep us close. Mom is a professional pianist and I have never heard anyone play as beautifully as she. That's something else I only came to appreciate as I got older. When you grow up with certain things, you tend to take them for granted. She'll be 77 this year, and I fully realize that it's very unwise to take anything for granted at this point. I know how very fortunate I am to have a mother who is also my best friend. As many of you know, she and I have made trips to the UK together for the past couple of decades. I can't even begin to recount the stories we've come back with. Suffice it to say that we have stored up some pretty amazing memories, for which I am eternally thankful. Here we are enjoying our pints of cider at a lovely old pub in medieval Lavenham, Suffolk. Shortly after we finished these drinks, Mom was invited to play the old piano just out of view, and the entire pub sang and danced. One of the regulars remarked that it was a "right old knees-up", and oh, yes, it was. Such good times. Yesterday on NPR I listened to a story about a young man who made grindcore/punk music and had included his mother on one of the songs. He spoke of once having a mohawk and being stopped by a police officer who asked him, "What would your mother think about the way you look?" His response? "Sir, my mother fully supports my right to be different." That sums my mother up perfectly. Happy Mom's Day.

Please pass the word. Apparently some part of the administration has decided to to promote or advertise this last enrollment day -- 1/31/17 Note: I just heard a piece of this on NPR news and don't have all the details. Nevertheless, it won't hurt to inform as many potential enrollees as possible. link: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/01/27/511981142/trump-administration-cancels-ads-encouraging-obamacare-sign-ups ETA link Trump Administration Cancels Ads Encouraging Obamacare Sign-Ups

Hi Conny. I had the same dilemma a few years ago....before you joined the forum. My solution....take them on holiday with me! Admittedly it was to my daughters for several days and I only had a small tray of about ten seedlings! Knowing how many plants you have these days, I'm struggling to visualise you and d/h doing this, but it did make me chuckle:-))) I hope they will be ok for you. Gill