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PB: You're very welcome.
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My 14 year old grand-nephew is a good natured B student who plays 4 sports and helps out around the school and at home. He's struggled with dyslexia but has turned the corner on that challenge and makes good grades now. He's athletic and has tons of friends. To my eye, he's just about perfect.

Last year he had a football coach that didn't allow the kids to take water breaks in 85 degree weather and mocked the kids who said they needed water. I told him his FIRST responsibility is to take care of himself; second responsibility is to take care of his teammates. Leave the game for a play and get some water. Take a teammate who needs water with you. If I ever see you go more than a half hour without water again, I'm going to be down on that field bringing the water to you and having select words for your coach. I might even report the coach to the state athletic league for violating the hot weather rules. Under my encouragement (or corrosion) he stood up for himself and a couple of teammates.

This year one of his favorite coaches was assigned to the lead coach on the baseball team. He was SO happy about that! He worked on improving his batting and field skills and recruited friends to play on the team with him. Practice started and he would be playing first base this year. Then the football coach was named as the head coach for the baseball team and shortly afterwards the favorite coach quit after a disagreement with the new head coach. The head coach brought his mocking ways to the baseball team and reduced one poor boy to tears in front of the team. My grand-nephew challenged the coach on it to "knock it off" and "apologize". The coach responded by trying to intimidate the nephew by telling him his opinion of him and his play to which my nephew responded (in a totally calm voice I'm told) "yeah, well in my opinion you're an awful coach but you must have somebody fooled but I'm not a big enough fool to play for you again", put an arm around his crying teammate and headed for the locker room. In the next 12 hours or so, all the 8th grade boys also quit the team; most have joined him on the track team which is apparently happy to have them.

The baseball coach put hands on my grand-nephew as he headed to the locker room telling him to get back on the field but even he decided to back off when the 6' and 230lb boy told him to get his hands off him and get out of his way. Now the coach is trying to get him suspended for "threatening" him. Grand-nephew tells me he never ever threatened the coach; he just looked at him with his best "just give me a reason" look. Not even the other coaches say he was threatening. His older brother tells me he's now viewed as a "hero" at both schools (MS & HS).

I have worried so much about this sensitive kid as I've watched him struggle with the hot and cold treatment of his divorced mother, the spite of his stepmother, and dyslexia. In the last year or so he seems to have grown into a confident boy who is no less sensitive but more focused on others and able to take care of himself. I don't think I will need to worry about this one much anymore.
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Sorry, dup
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TNtechie
That was a horrible experience for your grand nephew. Unfortunately the coach sounds so much a bully I fear repercussions for your GN. I wonder if you or his father should take preemptive action by visiting the school board and filing a complaint?
Grand nephew is both blessed and cursed to be such an intimidating size at his age. He is a child and shouldn’t have to deal with this bully coach - nor have to watch his back. Adults, IMO, should be protecting all the children from people like this who are in a very powerful position.. The bully has a lot to answer for but Friday night football in the South is king. He probably thinks he can’t afford to allow GN to have the upper hand. I would not speak to the coach if I were you. I would take it over his head but that’s just me. I’m sorry if I am borrowing trouble. I mean no disrespect.
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97, I sent emails with video attach to the athletic director and the principal documenting the coach's violation of the state's rules on hot weather water breaks during the football season and there was some improvement but not full compliance, which I also documented. As I told the principal, if I detect anything that might be retaliation I will be calling the local news channel and filling a formal complaint. My nephew is very well thought of in the community, has a good friend from his HS football team on the county commission and another on the school board. He also has friends among the coaching staffs, particularly at the high school. And the big thing is the nearby city school would LOVE to have him. My nephew wants his sons to play for his old school (the county HS) where his all state pictures hang in the halls BUT he's perfectly willing to pay the tuition to the city school if that's what it takes to ensure his son has a fair shake.

I agree in many ways it is unfortunate that my grand-nephew's size and general look will cause people to treat him as though he is several years older than he is. I had the same problem, often being taken as early 20s when I was 14-15. I've been warning him for a couple of years now when I first started to see the growth spurt. All I can say is that he generally interacts with adults as though he is older. No child should have to endure a bully as a teacher or a coach but I guess he's in the right family for support; we believe teachers and coaches EARN respect and as long as you respect the position you do not have to respect the person. GN played by our rules (no cussing or yelling, and say what you want in a calm reasonable tone, walk away if its too intense) and he has our support. In some ways I probably caused some of the problem when I told him to ignore the bully coach and go get the water his body needed. But I cannot honestly say I have any regrets about the confident young man he has become.
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TN
I should have known you were way way ahead of me. So glad it is all good and I am proud of him too.
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My Mom is arriving from Kansas today. Busy week of getting her moved in her new home. I hope she likes it. It's a small cottage type house in a retirement community. Her moving van comes Wednesday. She'll be tired. She's driven for two long days. New experience for her children. None of us have lived with or near her since we were in high school. I was in college when she left our dad. We've always visited her in Kansas.
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Techie - good to hear from you and that your GN is doing well, despite his challenges. Sounds like all bases are covered!

KC - hope this move works very well for you and your mum and your family as a whole. It will be different, that's for sure. Let us know how she settles in.
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Dropped my mom off at her new house. My sister is going over to help her put shelf paper in the kitchen and other move in stuff. I hope they get along okay. My sister was daddy's girl and she didn't always get along with mom. But mom's more mellow now. I'm sure having 5 kids in six years wasn't a piece of cake for her especially with a school teacher husband who was always involved at school and four teenage boys. I will give both of my parents credit for not talking badly about each other to the kids. And I figure there was plenty both of them could have said.
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KC,

Give your sister credit for helping mom out. I was a ‘daddy’s girl’ and I took care of my mom. A mother/daughter relationship can be complicated at times.

I’m glad that your mom is settling into a new place.
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Today is shaping up badly. I felt bad when I got up. Three youngest kids got up sick. My brother stopped by and gave us rapid Covid tests. All of us are positive. He got us scripts for the new Covid drug and an antibiotic for my daughter who was also strep positive. I hope no one else gets sick. But I was with my other two sons and their babies, my Mom, sister and a bunch of other people. At least none of us worked at the bar yesterday.
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KC,

I am so sorry that all of you have Covid. I hope that your symptoms aren’t going to be very bad and that you recover quickly.

Sending many hugs your way!
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Did anyone see Jimmy Fallon on The Voice last night?

So funny! He was pretending to be a contestant to promote his new show, That’s My Jam.
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Covid sucks!
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KC,

So sorry. Hopefully, you and your family will start feeling better soon.
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❤️🙂

hi everyone! :) :)
hugs & courage & wisdom, to all! :) :)

just wanted to say, today i'm having a GOOD day. feels good. i gotta appreciate those days. my LOs are doing very well; me, too. (i'll continue to be mostly gone from the internet). we're also having a really beautiful day outside. blue, blue sky, with lots of sunshine -- and snowwwww everywhere. it snowed again during the night. i continue to walk around with my spiky shoes, and two poles; as does everyone here, whatever age. on my way to the supermarket, i walk along a river, with icy patches and snow-covered stones, hugged by the water.

anyway, today is a GOOD day over here. and as we know, things can change so fast, so i'm appreciating every moment.

courage, everyone.

bundle of joy :)
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I'm wondering what has happened to Sendme. She's just disappeared and I can't send her any private messages anymore.

If you are out there Send. I miss you and hope you are alright.
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Gershun: Sendhelp is her username.
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Okay, thx Llama, it used to be Sendme I think. I guess I'm behind.
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Gershun: You're very welcome.
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Gershun - Send went dark after the panic posts about site security 🫤
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So, Cher is dating a 37 year old! She’s 70!

She’s happy. She’s Cher!

I personally never got her relationship with Greg.

Greg was so messed up on drugs back then. Cher was so controlled by Sonny that maybe she was curious about being with a guy like Greg. They had a son together. I saw the son, Elijah perform at a blues festival. He sounds a lot like his dad did.

Sonny may have discovered Cher and put her on the map but he definitely held her back. She was the one with all of the talent! Not him.

I started going to Allman Brothers concerts when I was a teenager. Have seen them many, many times before. Last saw Greg Allman at our jazz festival in the blues tent. So good!

Gosh, so many musicians that I listened to when young are dead now. I feel old! LOL 😆
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need - actually Cher is 76. I don't have a problem with age differences . Lots of older men with younger women too and nobody pays much attention to that any more.
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I'm four years older than my spouse. While that's not a huge difference sometimes it feels like it now that I'm 61 and he's 57.

Willie, yes I thought that might be why Send had "left the building" so to speak. I hope she comes back!
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Golden, Thanks

I knew that she was at least 70. 76! Wow! She looks fabulous.

I say as long as she’s happy, so what…doesn’t matter what age they are.

They are both adults. It’s not like a teenager dating someone who is a lot older. That’s cringy.
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Why Stacy, cause my cat avatar pic looks so young? LOL
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Gershun,

My aunt was four years older than my uncle. They had a wonderful relationship.
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I've always been young at heart I guess. I'll take it as a compliment Stacy. :)
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Daylight savings time is this weekend y’all.
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You do seem young,
Gershun.

I agree with Stacy. I would also say that your avatar is very Puss N Boots and Shrek. Love Antonio Banderas!

I watched Shrek a bazillion times with my daughters.
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