<p>We don’t have any lawn, but I know how to work on a two cycle engine.</p>
<p>For an acre of grass, Id get a couple goats.
:)</p>
<p>Here’s a life skill that I think is very important and that I had great trouble with as a young adult. In fact, every once in a while, it happens again: How to handle a phone call with an unhelpful customer service rep, doctor’s office, bureaucrat, etc. So many young people are used to texting, etc, and avoid making sometimes necessary phone calls.</p>
<p>When ever I get on the phone it seems, I am trapped in a voice mail maze, while a " helpful" voice reminds me I can access my acct online.
At least when I send an email, I have a record of my communication, unlike when the voice prompts don’t understand my pronunciation and disconnects me.</p>
<p>That’s always fun, emeraldkity4! But even in these times, sometimes you actually have to talk to a person over the phone to explain your situation. And sometimes it can be very difficult and intimidating. Sometimes you have to navigate that awful maze until you reach a person, and if you start stammering or can’t express your problem properly, you could be eaten alive. This is not a quest for the timid. So I try to help my kids gird their loins before they head into battle.</p>
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<p>This is a sad story, but one that might have been preventable had the woman not been so dependent on her husband. THAT is a life lesson for our daughters. I cannot believe in this day and age how many women are content to give up all their professional connections (or never develop them) when they find themselves a wealthy-enough husband. I know several women whose husbands have recently left them for “younger models.” They have SO few options career-wise because they have spent the past two decades only maintaining the household. I am not saying that is not a worthy enterprise–only that it is a risky one.</p>
<p>"had a LOT of experience taking care of babies before I had my own. I think a lot of girls do - changing diapers, dealing with crying, feeding, teething, etc. - some even extensive from younger siblings or babysitting. "</p>
<p>I didn’t. I had a younger sibling but my mother took care of all those things. I had no cousins and only occasionally babysat. I didn’t have any infant experience til I had my own. Most of my girlfriends were the same way. We learned how to feed, change diapers, etc. In the moment. It didn’t put us at any disadvantage versus someone who grew up socialized that way.</p>
<p>My H didn’t help with his younger bro, but is an excellent dad. Got on-the-job training and we learned together as we went along.</p>
<p>I admit that when the kids were young, I devoted nearly all my time and energy to my household, and neglected networking and things for me. Once they were older, I started working part time bi also have been actively working in our finances so they are in excellent shape now and should remain so for our lifetimes. </p>
<p>It is a mistake to neglect your financial health and have magical thinking that it will all work out. Our neighbor has been working with her employer for over 30 years but watching her 80+ year old mom doesn’t think she has enough saved for retirement for her and her H. Without secure lifetime pensions, retiring is a lot more elusive for folks these days than it was even last generation. There is not much of a financial safety net for folks who outlive their savings in the US.</p>
<p>It’s nice to be able to pay people to do things for you, but there are a lot of people that do not have that luxury.</p>
<p>The only time I babysat an infant was when I was 17 and a couple I knew very slightly put me in charge of their kids, including 3 week old baby.
I was scared to death, I dont know what they were thinking!</p>
<p>However since my oldest was in the hospital for 8 weeks before she came home a few years later, i had already taken a childrens first aid course and given her a bath ( supervised by the hospital staff) a visiting nurse also came by at least once a week for the first few months as well.
I figured out how to use the electric breast pump to keep my milk going till she was big enough to nurse, no mean feat since when she came home she weighed less than 4 lbs and couldnt nurse till she was 4 mo old.
I quickly discovered I got more rest if she slept on my chest rather than in her cradle but if I had been a heavy sleeper it might not have gone so well.</p>
<p>Well, that’s the point, eK. You learned it in the moment. Just like you can learn cleaning or laundry in the moment.</p>
<p>Well laundry I learned in jr high, I’m still working on cleaning…
:o</p>
<p>When my kids lived off campus the learned to deal with landlords, get utilities turned on/off, budget, shop, pack, move, deal with roommates who didnt pay their share, dealt with subleases, etc. They did laundry, but the cleaning part… well they are still working on that. One is relatively neat, but the other is a slob. They both had roommates that were slobs too. That didnt help.</p>
<p>S#2 had a roommate after he graduated (rm was a grad student) who had no clue how to contact/set up a utility, etc. and was quite intimidated by the whole thing.</p>
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<p>I think most Moms become pretty darn expert at taking care of their own babies without anyone telling them how. Even though I thought I knew it all, I still had to learn my own baby. I was just surprised at how different the reality of having my own kid was to taking care of someone else’s for certain periods of time. Sleep deprivation as a way of life was a shock, lol.</p>
<p>At age 25 I’m better than most–I can change my own oil (if I chose to), perform basic car maintenance, clean, know how to unclog a drain/shower/toilet/garbage disposal, know how to troubleshoot basic home issues, get an apartment up and running, etc. But once the furloughs are over, I’m looking to purchase my first car on my own and THAT is scary</p>
<p>Oh, and I’m still working on the cooking (I can bake!!), and folding a fitted sheet still escapes me :)</p>
<p>Folding a fitted sheet escapes all of us - I have been washing sheets for almost thirty years and still can’t do this - I don’t even try to make a fitted sheet fold neatly anymore!</p>
<p>I roll fitted sheets. They don’t fold</p>
<p>Ha! I’ve got you beat. I can do all of that (minus change my oil) AND fold a fitted sheet. </p>
<p>They DO fold.</p>
<p>Not in my house they don’t. Must be a law of physics. ;)</p>
<p>To fold a fitted sheet you must:
•think like the fitted sheet
•feel like the fitted sheet
•BE the fitted sheet</p>
<p>Lol. …</p>