This is one of those "don't read any comments...just post your gut reaction to the OP," and my gut is that open relationships are asking for trouble.

I know of only one "open relationship," and it's not really open. It consists of a woman who has been separated from her husband for going on 20 years now, and she's been involved with the same man for all that time. The same holds true for the husband in this situation. They have a pretty good bit of money that's tied up in the fact that they are married, and that's the only reason why they are still legally married.

For the most part, couples are playing Russian roulette when they seek to make their relationship open to others. It's just the first step down the slope to parting ways.

Open relationships are detrimental to the two adults, and they can be devastating to any kids stuck in the middle.

All right. I'm 50 plus. I'll be 53 in September. I devoted a good piece of my life to my husband and our family company. I devoted a good piece of my life to raising our son. During these endeavors I was office manager for our companies, legal assistant and substitute teacher...depending on what the needs of the other folks in my life required of me and left me to do on my own. Plus there was the issue of my "isms."

Now, at the point where Sunny gets to do what Sunny wants to do when she grows up, I chose to go back to college. Gawd willin' and the crick don't rise, I'll have my own family counseling practice and be teaching a course or two at a college once it's all said and done. I'm well on my way.

Yes, I'm nucking futz to take this on "at my age." Yes I'm loving every minute of it.

Oh my gawd! Dan agrees with me! That pretty much makes it gospel, Hon...sorry!

A good home-made meal and a lecture about STDs????

That was the first thought that popped into my head. The second one, quite frankly, was...."doormat."

Trust me, when folks are going through family medical issues, they do their best to keep the folks they care about apprised. My gut says this is a brush-off and a tacky one...using health issues as an excuse.

I don't care what level the relationship has reached...you are entitled to a text, phone call, email within the time frame mentioned. Brush this one off your feet and move on.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease...so it's up to us...the individual citizens...to voice our disgust and distress. We don't have the lobbying voice, but we have the voting voice. And don't tell me one vote doesn't count, because if every person who says their vote doesn't count voted.....

Again , it depends on state law, so do a bit of research before you do anything else...anything...including walking into an attorney's office.

I don't have many bills, but I'd pay off what I owe. I'd buy my son a truck and help him buy a house.

I'd finance a halfway house for people with mental issues.

I'd keep on my chosen path for the most part. I'd just be glad I had the bucks to help out my friends who have met a bump in the road.

Excellent point about the renter's insurance. I've held it for years, and both times when I had an apartment flood, it came to my rescue. Unfortunately, during the last mold issue, it wasn't the direct result of any known damage to my apartment, i.e. it was the result of a flood in an upper apartment that occurred before I took occupancy and the tenant before me had not voiced a complaint. (Apparently the only "damage" was in the wall between the two apartments). Therefore, there was no paper trail linking the flood to the mold to my problems, and it was not covered.

That being said, I highly recommend any renters pay the low bucks for renter's insurance. When they did pay off, they paid off well, few questions asked. It was a lifesaver and well worth the money.

Yep, the Emperor is jay-bird nekkid.

And no, this didn't come about with Obama. It's been going on for a very long time. This country's economy has been held up by card houses for ages. Now all the chickens are coming to roost.

I'm constantly surprised at how anyone can seriously blame all this mess on the current president. The wheels of the economy take a long long time to grind.

Yeah, I'm guessing that it wasn't the smile on YOUR face but the "smile" on "Mr. Happy's" face that got you deleted, if that was the case. Snort!

I lived in an apartment haunted by mold. I found out quickly that in my state the landlords hold all the cards. I had to move at my own expense. BUT it was well worth the money to be out of there and not to have to go through a lost-cause lawsuit.

Exactly! Which is why half the pix of me gazing adoringly at my new granddaughter will come out looking like I'm mad at her.

Ah yes, and all the "fun" to be had during the "transition" of that phrase. Made for some interesting radio convos and happenstance meetings at truck stops.

Now that you mention it...I guess that's why all the old old photos show folks snarling and stern!

The QMan used to fuss that I never posted a pic of me smiling. I'll tell you why I'm rarely smiling in pictures...I start out all happy and laughing and the person taking the damn picture takes 45 minutes to frame it just the way they want it. By then I'm itching and have to tinkle...not a situation conducive to smiling.

I'm a stranded alien. I'm a Delta girl living up here on this mountain that these folks call a hill (nooooo....a hill is a speed bump).

I think "dorm kids" (be it an actual dorm, a shared apartment, etc.) learn as much about life from their roommate experiences as they do in the classroom.

Moving out in a few days? Look! See that tunnel? See the light at the end of it?! Think of the bliss you'll feel when you're out of this situation.

Me...I just came home from a few days of crawling all over/around/through beloved family members...came home to find my brother had made himself at home in my house...and trust me...I don't want my home to look like his...taking away his key...sitting here enjoying the quiet, clean calm which is interrupted only by the demands of a tabby and a Pomeranian on occasion.

At this point in my life if I had a roommate, well, it wouldn't last for long as I'd be in a nice solitary cell pretty quickly, having committed murder.

(Sung in a breathy voice):

Ha-ppy birth-day to you. Ha-ppy birth-day to you. Happy birthday Miss Ca-at. Ha-ppy birth-day to you.

And many more!

Happy Birthday, young lady.

I'm a Memphis girl. Elvis and Graceland were landmarks that we took for granted would always be there, just like the Mississippi River.

I once had an opportunity to go to a party at Graceland, but my friend chickened out at the last minute, and I was too in awe to go by myself. That was a couple of months before he died.

Elvis Presley brought much to the world of music, and his influence continues (and always will).

The first time my husband and I drove to Tupelo to see his birthplace, we drove around four or five times before we finally found it. At that time it was still just this little nondescript house with a small sign out in front. You couldn't go in or anything. While Graceland and points across the street have been turned into a carnival of sorts, the little house's grounds and tour are in good taste and worth the trip.