RBWells

Pixel 5 is my new phone, lol. I had the original Pixel, now the 5. One of my kids used the original one for a few months after I upgraded too.

I do miss headphone jack :(

It's ok, and getting better. My big problem with it is (like you) that Google Play Music was incredible, so good, and they discontinued it in favor of the much worse and awkwardly named YouTube Music.

Whoever convinced them to give up the branding of "Play Store, Play Music, Play Movies" should be drawn and quartered.

Emmylou Harris wrote two that are so beautiful and so sad, if you need to cry, Boulder to Birmingham:

"I don't want to hear a sad song full of heartbreak and desire

The last time I felt like this, I was in the wilderness, and the canyon was on fire

And I stood on the mountain in the night and I watched it burn, I watched it burn"

And also in the same song she sings - "well you really got me this time, and the hardest part is knowing I'll survive" wow.

If that somehow doesn't work, Red Dirt Girl might.

"She loved her brother, I remember back when

He was fixing up a 49 Indian

Told her, little sister gonna ride the wind, up around the moon and back again

Well he never got farther than Vietnam, I was standing there with her when the telegram come for Lillian

Now he's lying somewhere about a million miles from Meridian "

Beebop-a-rebop-a-rhubarbar!

My mom wasn't much of a cook but I loved when she made seafood boils, put newspaper all over the table and we ate it all with hands.

My dad made Chicken Kiev it was so good.

Maternal grandma made fried chicken, and gave us bags of pecans, she would sit on the porch with her boyfriend for hours while they shelled pecans and talked.

Paternal grandma I remember oyster dressing at Christmas, yum. And I remember her lighting cigarettes on the gas stove.

I just wanna say I am sorry that it is near impossible for single dads to adopt kids. I understand the reasoning but want to cry because there are kids who need parents but you can't be the parent to one.

I had two terrible toddlers, but once they were kids they were cool. Two who I guess will get a midlife crisis, because they never caused trouble as kids or teens. The rest I got when they were teens or older and while not all of them (bio or other) were academic superstars or high performing athletes or anything, they were all reasonable and interesting and diverse people by teenage years.

I don't remember my mom being motherly, and asked her about it once. She said "I don't like kids." I said"but you have so many kids!" And her reply?

"Well, I like you all now, I knew you would grow up, kids don't stay kids, they grow into people."

Good on you, live your life on your terms!

Oh my God I would never want to BE a kid again, it was a nightmare. But my kids say they enjoyed it ok, and weren't as uncomfortable as I was. Maybe it skips a generation.

My mom said once that if everyone waited until their life was perfect to have a kid, that was the end of humanity. There is never a perfect time.

Kids for me. They have improved my life more than anything else. Having the first two pushed me to go back to school and get a real job. I got more when my ex & I split and I married a guy with kids; we have a staggering number between us, most were teens or older when we got together and they are all close now, so they have a network of family to help and socialize with. The youngest is almost done with high school so we are in the final stretch of having them at home. The Thanksgiving feast here is insane, so many people, chaotic and fun.

Now - having said all that, I always knew I wanted kids, not necessarily to birth them but to raise them. Babies are adorable , little kids blistering cute, teenagers so much fun and occasionally helpful, and then they grow up and are actual people. It is work I find fulfilling and it helps the world to have educated, sensible, open-minded people. Most of my kids don't want kids themselves and that's fine! Everyone has their own life to live.

So for me, kids. For you, whatever you want, I don't think it's essential to become an adult and don't think it's the only way to get a family either.

Water with electrolytes? I got unflavored electrolyte drops for times I fast, and for my kid who has to do band camp in the summer here. You can get flavored ones too, I don't like them. Dilute them more than the bottle says to, sometimes a splash of lemon.

Topo Chico and orange juice is great, if you are just looking for something that tastes good.

Ask your doctor if it's safe for you to take creatine, that certainly helps muscles retain water.