Oof. I know that 100% of the problems Widget and I are having with my mother right now are her fault, and that not only am I not obligated to make him spend time with someone who constantly deadnames and misgenders him, I AM obligated to protect him from that kind of treatment as much as I can...so why does every single Facebook post about a grandmother's unconditional love feel like something between a slap in the face and a punch in the gut?

gah, i'm sorry to hear that Demyx that just sounds so frustrating for you and the Widget.

why does your mother do the things she does? is it malicious on her part? does she just not get it? or something else?

i only know what I've read here, but it just seems like your mother is (at this point) doing it on purpose, because that's not the way things were when the Widget was born, and your mother wants it back that way... i dunno. but your mother seems like a piece of work. yeesh.

I don't know. Maybe the reason all the "Grandma's unconditional love" posts are hitting me so hard is because I'm starting to understand that I've spent my entire life feeling like my mother's love was entirely conditional, and the way she's treating the Widget now just proves it. I don't know. Maybe she'll grow as a person and understand that this "granddaughter" she misses never really existed and Widget has been a boy deep down all along. Maybe she won't. There's nothing I can do about it except protect my son.

gah, that is frustrating.
and i'm sorry that your mother's "love" is conditional. that shouldn't be how it works.

the only personal experience I have is that quite a number of years ago, I think my older daughter was still in college but it might have been shortly after high school? (she graduated HS in 2015, college in 2019, so somewhere in there) she told me she was bi - and it was some time before that that hubby came out to me also as bi, but as he'd never been with a guy, it was more of a curiosity on his part. and, being the woman that i am, i accepted that from both of them completely.

how old did you say the Widget is? it's entirely possible that your mother could think he's too young to really know his true self? i dunno. i mean.... when you know, you know. y'know? (of course you know, he's your son. )

Dear Widget is five years old. Sixth birthday will be his first one as a boy.

well, he's certainly a handsome little boy, and happy birthday to him... whenever it is.

(my birthday is Monday! and I'm off work this weekend! woot! )

Why are cats and string. I don't know. But it makes it difficult to do any string-based crafting.

hmm..... my cats seem to leave my yarn alone now. but when I first started crocheting, Blackie loved my yarn, and he'd steal it from Max too. now, many years later.... last year when we first got Ash and Oreo as kittens, they both loved playing with my yarn. now they just like hopping in my project bags.

as for why are cats and string? why not ask "Why are cats and cardboard."

....nothing to see here... i have no idea why it double posted.....

String wiggles!

actually, i no longer trust my cats with yarn. when we first got Rocky last April (2020), we had a wand toy that I tied a length of yarn to that he played with. but then one day the yarn was considerably shorter, and the missing length was nowhere to be found. we watched Rocky for several days, during which I found some short pieces mixed in with stuff from the litter box. i am VERY THANKFUL that the yarn passed through him and didn't get tangled up, as it is wont to do sometimes. so *whew*

but no, I don't trust the cats with yarn anymore.

Not spaghetti, guys. lol

So.

I've joined the ranks of the green rookies who stick the sim card in the smart phone wrong and need to have it rescued. Feel free to laugh at me.

It took me three days to complete a rather basic necklace because every time I got to work on it, Donna would jump up and try to eat my cord. The only way to stop her was to abandon project as soon as she jumped.

Also, we do not laugh at rookies here, Tam. Everyone is new at everything at some point.

I had to pay over 40 dollars CAN to get that sim card back. >_<

Guys. Life size Jack Skellington.

https://www.instructables.com/Life-Size-Jack-Skellington/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U3q-ipxUPs

https://www.google.com/search?q=life+size+hanging+jack+skellington+halloween&biw=1018&bih=618&tbm=shop&ei=I_g2YYjnF9Lb-wT5x6HYCA&oq=life+size+hanging+jack+skellington+halloween&gs_lcp=Cgtwcm9kdWN0cy1jYxADOggIABAIEB4QGDoKCAAQCBANEB4QGDoECCEQClCj0xpYxdkaYL3dGmgAcAB4AIABX4gBjgaSAQE5mAEAoAEBwAEB&sclient=products-cc&ved=0ahUKEwjIhKiekOzyAhXS7Z4KHfljCIsQ4dUDCAs&uact=5


I found myself a Grim Reaper at the dollar store today. After I've gotten the project list a little smaller he's getting a crochet body so I can hug him. LOL They had him all tied up in a bundle with his hands sticking out the top by his face. It was hilarious. I carried him all the way home under my arm like a dolly.

aww, that sounds like a cute Grim Reaper, Tam!

Demyx, yeah, that sounds like a cat! =^..^=

He's hanging on the wall now, being dramatic. One hand is lifted, and his head is turned to one side. It's a bit hilarious. Who would have thought a four dollar decoration could be so fun?

Ugh. But I'm cramping. I'm so DONE with perimenopause.

sometimes it's the inexpensive little things that are the most fun!

Or inexpensive big things. He's a good size. LOL He'll be bigger once he has a body instead of just fluttering black stuff.

Some of the Jack Skellington links I put up there were for the cheap but big hanging Jacks.

or inexpensive big things.

you know what I meant

Yeah. Weird brain just had to try and be literal. LOL