My husband will walk into my office and just stand there until I respond. He’s trying not to break my chain of thought by not speaking. In his own way, he’s being very sweet. It’s well-intentioned but it breaks my chain of thought immediately anyway.

He thinks that I am bringing my task to a good stopping point before I respond to his presence, but I’m actually waging an internal war with myself: don’t rip his face off, I know I have been working a grand total of 15 minutes and he had every opportunity the rest of the freaking day to say whatever inane thing he is about to say that could have been a text, I should have shut the door if I didn’t want him wandering in, breathe breathe breathe … “yes, sweetie? What do you need?”

I got a therapist for this same type of thing - it really does suck. I felt like I was going to crawl out of my skin all the time. The right therapist can be so helpful. My mind still races, but I automatically use the SOBER technique now without thinking through the acronym first. Or I name the issue “this is avoidant - what am I avoiding?” Or I ask “how can I reframe this?” To stay in the moment, I use a sensory exercise. Seek a therapist who will TEACH, not just sympathize.

Our small town pharmacy delivers at no extra charge. I’m never looking back.

In my state, before Covid sub pay was $100 a day in many districts and a bachelor’s degree was required. My son made more than that at Starbucks after tips.

The state had to lower the bar as far as degree because during Covid the few who were willing to accept this pay had to find other jobs until schools reopened. They didn’t come back. Now schools are still posting sub positions that state that a bachelor’s degree in that subject area is required, a master’s degree is preferred, and the pay is $130 a day. But someone with a high school degree is also paid $130 a day for other sub positions. The expectations are very different for the two positions, but the pay is the same.

I don’t know about dirt floors, but my mom grew up with an outhouse.

Is there a way to see what specific instances each instance has defederated from? Just curious