Posts by Harold Flores4

Scott Howard74 said:If everything else is fine, just excuse the absences for now and try to actually sit down and talk to him.🙂

I’m just not going to do it... I already told him back when he was still in elementary school that we aren't about to start making excuses for absences that we know nothing about.
So, this kid actually had the nerve to ask if he could bail out two hours early and if I’d cover for him—which, obviously, I knew exactly where he was actually heading—so we just told him fine, but let me be clear, I am absolutely not backing up his excuse. To make matters even more ridiculous, his homeroom teacher is actually checking in to see if I’ll sign off on the absence, claiming that they've been handing out passes like candy to way worse kids lately.
He rolled back through the door that same evening looking way too happy, acting like we hadn't even sat him down earlier to have that whole heavy conversation about him skipping school. We actually went back and forth on whether we should ground him for the weekend since he had those unexcused absences, but honestly, we decided against it. Instead, we just laid it out straight and told him this was his final warning before we officially expelled him from our house, so he better start watching his step if he wants to keep things running smoothly.
The kid is actually pretty sharp, he really is, it’s just that his brain chemistry is acting up a bit and messing with him—you know, those hormone fluctuations can totally throw someone off.

So, my son spent his whole summer working at a construction site... he was out there grinding all through the break. I actually tried to talk him into taking some time off to just relax and enjoy himself, but he insisted on working. He keeps telling me he prefers the manual labor over being stuck in a classroom, which is wild considering he’s actually doing pretty well in school. My husband just called me to say the grades are holding steady; they’ve dipped a little bit lately, but nothing we need to panic about yet.
The only real red flag is that he’s racked up seven unexcused absences, which is totally unlike him. It’s pretty obvious he’s going through some kind of personal crisis right now, and I’m honestly sitting here trying to figure out the best way to handle these missed days without making things worse...

Help... out of nowhere today, my kid just announced he’s completely done with school... says he can't deal with teachers constantly breathing down his neck expecting him to actually know the curriculum... claims he's just gonna go find a job instead. My god...
My husband just headed over to the school to get some answers from the administration... who knows what kind of mess they're going to walk into...
And the crazy part is, everything seemed totally fine until yesterday.

Scott Howard74 said:The absolute worst thing about how things work around here is this whole culture of hiding grades. Honestly, all it does is screw over the student, not anyone else.🤷

Heh... I actually managed to pull one over on them.
Look, I’m not saying he shouldn't get his unit, but until things actually get squared away, there’s just no way he’s getting any time out on the town. It’s pretty obvious that he’s got every reason to avoid those outings, and honestly, whenever he does end up having to face the music, he’s going to try to fix the situation as fast as humanly possible just to get back to his life.
Of course there were a few attempts at sneaking around, but since I’m basically checking the news feed every fifteen minutes, everything gets sniffed out pretty much immediately. Once that happens, he just puts me on lockdown until I make things right, plus whatever extra days we agreed upon to make up for him keeping quiet about his hookups. There's no actual pressure being applied here, though; it’s just the deal we made between us and we both need to stick to it. He expects us to honor every single promise and agreement we've laid out, and honestly, we expect the exact same level of accountability from him. He tried pulling that stuff two or three times, but it won't be happening again.

My kid is 16...and he started dating girls pretty early on. About a year ago, things went totally sideways with his girlfriend from school...apparently, she was at some party...some guys did something to her...she ended up pregnant and dumped him (my son) because she felt bad that he’d be stuck dealing with the consequences through no fault of his own. Naturally, everything just blew up into this massive panic. I sat him down to talk, asking if she’d even spoken to her parents, and he told me she supposedly hadn't. I kept nudging him to try and explain to her that she absolutely had to talk to her mom, especially since there's a baby involved, but she just wouldn't listen. I tried to be really careful when explaining to him that girls that age sometimes make stuff up for all sorts of reasons...but he just snapped at me, saying I always think people are being shady...blah, blah...he didn't want to hear another word about it. Then, out of nowhere, these random guys started threatening him, telling him to stay far away from her or they'd make him pay. He really wanted to stand by her side at first because he believed everything she was saying...only for it to turn out she was lying just so she could dump him for a new guy (thank God that was the worst of it). I spent those days in such a heavy dilemma over what to do. If what she was saying was actually true, I felt this intense weight that I had to step in somehow...luckily, it wasn't long before my boy realized what was actually going on.

Scott Howard74 said:🤷

Of course they will be. No parent is totally chill about it—when your kid is out late, between all the typical teenage drama and worrying if they're actually gonna make it home in one piece or get jumped by some jerk... it's a lot. When mine goes out, I'm wide awake until I hear the door click. We don't even have a car, so he has to rely on the bus or something, which sucks. You've definitely got it easier since you can just pick him up when he calls; all I can tell mine is "grab an Uber and we'll cover it."🤷

We actually do the whole Uber thing sometimes too, especially when there's a group of them and they can split the cost.
Honestly, the hardest part for me is when he goes through those phases with girls, because then he gets super neurotic and starts picking fights or just shuts down completely, telling me that I have absolutely no clue what his life is actually like. Whenever he hits me with that line, I start to panic, even though it usually turns out to be something totally trivial in the end, which is just how it goes, but you really never know when it's happening.

Scott Howard74 said:Look, my friends finally realized what was actually going on and they just cut ties. Period. Just went cold turkey. They kept showing up to work, she stayed home, locked the doors, took a gap year, lost her old crew... gave her all that time to actually sit there and think. Luckily, she used that time for something good. It ain't easy, trust me, but you can still steer people back toward the right path if you try hard enough.👍

Yeah... it really isn't easy... especially since he still hangs out with the "normal" crowd too... so it's not like he's exclusively running with the guys who cause trouble.
I want to be clear that I don't have any major issues with him personally, more or less... when he goes out to parties or big bashes, I'm the one driving him and his crew home, so I see firsthand how some of those guys act versus how he actually carries himself.
I realize I don't have any right to go around forbidding him from doing anything... he respects our agreements most of the time, even if there's a bit of pushback now and then, but I can't help the constant fear sitting in the back of my mind about whether he'll always stay this responsible.

Scott Howard74 said:Maybe try cutting her loose from whatever crowd she’s hanging out with🤷. Our buddies went through the exact same thing with their daughter at that age—bad crowd, drugs, staying out until sunrise. They had to go hard on her to fix it. She stayed home for three months straight, then transferred to a new school, got a job, worked five days a week, and now she’s married and doing great. Like, it’s a totally different person.🤷

But how? How are you supposed to actually pull someone away from a social circle that's clearly dragging them down?
My buddy is dealing with the same kind of questionable crowd, but I don't really have any major issues with him personally... he isn't drinking heavily... or doing drugs (as far as I know, anyway)... even though some of the people he hangs out with definitely are.

Amanda Hall87 said:you're talking about soaking them when you're bone dry, so obviously there isn't even anything to actually soak the tampon...

but it doesn't even matter, it’s really not a big deal... I was honestly just trying to offer a theory on why a tampon might absorb water sometimes and not others, and things just got weird

Look, you explained it perfectly fine, we all just (well, at least I did) jumped at the chance to make a joke out of it.

So, I guess even when things aren't heating up, you still find ways to spread those legs, right?

Man, I honestly thought I had the most perfect ass on the planet, but then life happened and everything just went soft and lost its shape 😢.

rapidcanyon9 said:Yeah, look, if you’re actually going to go through with drinking those teas, just know you’ve gotta stay on top of your hydration. I mean, maybe drink about a cup or two, two or three times a day, for maybe ten days? Nothing more than that. And honestly, eat some bananas or something so you don't lose all your potassium from the flushing. But... seriously, check with your doctor first.
Take care.

And make sure you're sipping it slowly rather than just chugging a big glass all at once. If it's just bloating that's bothering you, there might be something else entirely going on.

Honestly, the first thing that jumps to mind for me is migraines. All those symptoms you mentioned are pretty much textbook for them. Of course, you really ought to go see a doctor just to rule out anything more serious... though even a migraine is definitely nothing to mess around with.

mistyranger51 said:Where can I actually find that tincture and what’s the damage on the price? Also, how am I supposed to take it? Thanks a ton

From what I've gathered, it's actually pretty tough to track down. I usually have to order mine from a specialty shop in New York whenever they happen to have it in stock. I don't think you'll find it sitting on the shelves at a local CVS or Walgreens, but honestly, it wouldn't hurt to ask just in case.
The way I do it is 3 times a day, taking about 5ml, roughly half an hour before you eat.

mistyranger51 said:my immune system has basically just tanked over the last year, so I feel like I'm constantly catching every little bug going around. does anyone have any actual, smart advice on how to boost my immunity based on what's worked for you? thanks in advance

Echinacea is honestly amazing if you're looking to give your immune system a real kickstart.
But wait, I think I might have seen you posting over in the "systemic lupus erythematosus" thread? If you're dealing with that or any other autoimmune issues, you definitely shouldn't be trying to ramp up your immunity like that.
I just noticed you mentioned you're struggling with RA, too. In that case, I'd actually suggest looking into black currant leaf tincture instead, because it works more as an immunomodulator and helps with inflammation.

Honestly, I was feeling just as crappy for about three or four days until everything hit me all at once two days ago. It was brutal—constant vomiting, splitting headaches, a fever, and my whole body just aching... it felt exactly like a heavy dose of the flu. I’m finally starting to feel a little more human today, though, like I've actually crawled back to the land of the living. Apparently, Taylor Swift says there's some kind of nasty virus going around right now.

Go ahead, keep it coming, just keep typing because there are plenty of us here who can totally relate to this. And hey, Sandra Walker4, just so you know, our parents are reading this too. Thanks for being real!

Noah Sanchez7 said:Look, you're missing my point; that's not what I meant. I said >>>>>> you chase the Mercedes, I'll chase the high!!!

I have nothing against you chasing that Mercedes; that's your path to happiness, and I'm genuinely glad you're happy. But the high is MY path to happiness, and it's the way for me to be happy!!

I haven't been looking down on anyone except those who lack even an ounce of understanding or tolerance for what I'm writing. And I'm not just writing about myself or for my own sake!
I'm talking about the millions of people who are "addictive personalities"—and honestly, they love drugs. That's just the de facto reality.

The whole essence of my existence can be summed up as: Live, work, and be happy (all the way to heaven), but let others live, work, and be happy (all the way to hell) too.
In the process, don't force your "paths to happiness" on them, because what looks like happiness to you might not be the same for me! We're all different people, and there's plenty of discrimination out there.

It seems to me like you aren't even following your own advice from that second-to-last sentence in this post, so fine, go ahead and do whatever you want and let other people express their views and live their lives, but whenever someone tells you "we don't care, just do your own thing," you get upset and claim you're being cast aside, and if someone actually tries to step up and show you that your actions might not be right, you take offense at that too, so I'm asking you seriously, without any bias or judgment, what is it that you actually want?

hiddentrucker16 said:I’ll just add one more thing—I really can’t defend myself against this, so please, give it a rest. Stop looking down on Noah Sanchez7 or claiming his way of thinking is somehow "horrific," because it simply isn't. You all were in the wrong, throwing around those vile comments—you know, the kind where people say things like, "You'll be food for worms while I'm cruising in my Mercedes." Honestly, having one less idiot around isn't the end of the world, and hiding behind the "majority versus minority" argument is just unfair; you shouldn't attack someone just because they don't align with the crowd... it's truly pathetic. It's perfectly clear why he reacted the way he did. Good grief, you're attacking him as if he's some sort of monster or the ultimate villain. It’s hardly surprising that he feels cornered—that he sees drugs as his only escape—whether he's actually promoting them for profit or not. Even if that were true, I can't find it in me to blame him. In an environment this cutthroat and judgmental, where everyone just piles on a single person, his mindset makes sense. Truly, I think I've had enough of this...

Less condemnation and a little more empathy—that's how we make things better.

Like someone else mentioned, I've gone back and read some of his older posts too, and he actually has some pretty smart things to say sometimes. But you can't just ignore the fact that he glorifies drug use. To me, it doesn't matter whether he promotes it or not, but like I already pointed out, there are kids reading this. So what exactly is he telling them? Is that really okay? I get that he wants to grab attention and find success, but he could definitely do it in a better way. I just know he's capable of it. And all of them are. I don't judge anyone—not gay people, not kleptomaniacs, not immigrants... nobody. They're all human beings, but so are we, the ones who don't see eye to eye with them. If he's going to advocate so hard for diversity and the right to personal choice, then he has to let us say what we think and respect our choices too, without making a face like it's some kind of crime.

Noah Sanchez7 said:Did I ever say that moderation wasn't necessary, Steven Lopez19?
Everything requires balance, even the small stuff.

Honestly, it feels like you’re just here to play games and entertain yourself, because all you’ve really done is read a bunch of books and watch movies instead of living life. When it comes to being an addict, there isn't really such a thing as "moderation." You can't seriously sit there and tell me that someone struggling with heavy substance abuse can think clearly or act responsibly in every single situation life throws at them. This woman mentioned earlier how happy she is just to have a healthy kid, but what happens if, heaven forbid, that child gets seriously ill? Would she even be able to function properly then? And what about when the kid grows up and real responsibilities and heavy problems start piling up—I really wonder how strong and capable she’ll actually be then. I know what little kids are like, and I know what teenagers are like too. With a toddler, sure, you let them run around, dress them up, take them to the park, or sit on the floor playing Legos... but what comes after that? I truly don't understand how you're allowed to keep posting this kind of nonsense. People are reading this, including kids like my own son! It’s honestly terrible.