My daughter just called and said that Louisiana State University is not having a graduation ceremony this year due to coronavirus.

Thanks so much, Send

She has a flight scheduled for Denver in June to start interviewing after she gets her diploma in the mail. They did invite the May graduating class to participate in a future graduation but she doesn’t know if she can participate then. Who knows? Like GA, wait and see.

Geeeez, it stuns me, Sendhelp to think about it. She’s receiving her diploma in the mail instead of walking in a cap and gown. I’m sad.

So sorry about your son. Yeah, it’s closure. She worked hard. She wants the traditional cap and gown ceremony!

A little off topic but the professional hockey league has suspended hockey and possibly will cancel completely. Our Canucks had a good chance this year of making the playoffs for the first time in five years. Now its possible that the season will be forfeited. I'm a huge hockey fan and was so looking forward to it.😟

Sorry NHWM about the whole graduation thing. This virus sucks!

Gershun,

Yes, we all understand the ‘safety reasons’ for all of this but it’s wrecking havoc in certain areas.

Sorry about your hockey team. I don’t know much about hockey. I know there is a huge following with tons of fans. We follow football here. I like baseball and basketball too.

This virus is causing cancellations with all sorts of things. It’s crazy!

I am glad this virus wasn’t around for football season at my daughter’s school. This was their year! The school has a great coach! The quarterback, Burrow was amazing! That kid ended up being a huge loss for Ohio when they tossed him aside but, hey we scored big! LSU went undefeated and won the national championship! Geaux 🐅 Tigers!

Graduation would have been so awesome to see this year! What a year for LSU! It’s a great school and such a shame they won’t have a traditional graduation for the students.

Sick of stupid autocorrect typing things incorrectly, so I retype it correctly. For some reason the edits don’t go through. Oh well...

In the south people hug and kiss everyone! So, Lord help us if our small number of cases grow much larger. So yeah, all that hugging at the graduation ceremony would be bad in spreading germs.

I hope people are being respectful to one another about not hugging and shaking hands. I know one woman who get upset if people don’t hug her. She’s my friend’s mom. She’s sort of crazy. I ignore her.

I have NEVER liked buffet lines. I am too much of a germ freak to eat from a buffet and I definitely understand places like the casinos in Las Vegas shutting down their buffets.

I don’t eat enough food to justify eating at a buffet. I actually get sick when I watch people eat like gluttons. I can’t watch. We have jazz brunch here in New Orleans and I love the jazz, but I order from the menu and leave the buffet alone.

Tulane University here in New Orleans has been asked to do a study at their primate center to see how the disease spreads. So, we shall see what the study reveals. Since this is a new virus research is needed to determine all the facts.

I do feel people have to be cautious but this widespread panic is going overboard in certain cases. No one needs to empty the shelves from grocery stores.

NHWM,

I am sorry to hear that your daughter will not be able to do the graduation ceremony. I know she and you were looking forward to this, but if it is any help I didn't do any of my graduations ceremony for my degrees. I am good with that; however, I do understand that some people need/want that 'right of passages' and your daughter (I am sure who worked very hard) should have a graduation ceremony. But as you know everything that has big crowds has been canceled. Have you thought about doing something super nice for her? Maybe making her favorite meal? Or buying something to give her? Just a thought!

All ski resorts have been shut down for the next week on order from the governor. All Washington D.C. attractions also shut down. And spring breaks start this next week.

When I first heard about the t.p hoarding I wondered, cynically, what in the world?! Are people using it for masks? 😄

NHWM, yes, I was joking of course and sorry if it went too far. I am sure your daughter is very bright and worthy and it is too bad about lack of ceremony.

Amongst my group of friends, we often joke with each other about the colleges they came from, sort of a jocular thing by guys I guess but it probably doesn't work on this forum.

I guess when you have good football teams, thats what people think about in reference to a college. Kind of like the line in Forrest Gump, after four years of playing football he got a college degree. (I think that was LSU enemy Alabama)

Karsten,

Apology accepted. As I said, I have a sense of humor. I love to laugh. Laughter is good for the soul. I appreciate comic relief. I truly do but the timing was off for me.

I took care of my dad until he died, my brother as well. I took care of my mom until I burned out. I missed out on a lot of my children’s lives. Would I do it again? I don’t know.

All I can say is that I felt it was the right choice at the time. Daddy had a heart condition and a stroke. I adored my father. His outlook was vastly different from mom who is a perfectionist.

My brother had many complications in his life. Eventually I had to walk away. He made my life hell. I truly tried to help him. He refused all of my attempts to get him involved in a drug rehab facility. He died with HepC. I did go to see him in hospice before he died.

Mom lost everything is Hurricane Katrina. What was I supposed to do? It was an emergency situation where my mom who was suffering with Parkinson’s disease and was homeless and too old to rebuild her home, so I took her into my home where she remained for 15 years. In the beginning it wasn’t so bad but as time and her disease progressed all of us felt the effects.

I became extremely isolated, not being able to fully participate in my family’s lives or the outside world.

My life was fully immersed in caring for my mom. Depression and anxiety set in. I listened to the good people on this forum who told me to set boundaries. Mom did not handle that well and spoke badly of me to my brothers.

My brothers never helped me. They criticized me horribly. Often times those who don’t help criticize the most. Sorry, I cannot respect someone who has never walked in my shoes, then has the gall to criticize.

It’s interesting because my mom’s doctors praised the care that I gave to mom. My doctors told me that I was neglecting my own needs and I was paying a price for it.

I had enough and told my mom to leave and told my ‘know it all’ brother that since he felt that I was wrong and he was right that he could take over.

In spite of the frustration and pain, I miss my family but I don’t miss the agony. I had to go no contact for my own protection and survival and I want nothing more than to live my remaining years on earth in peace.

Trust me, I am telling you the condensed version of the heartache I have endured so forgive me if I am overly sensitive to anyone who annoys me.

I don’t believe in holding grudges though. I forgive and move on. I have learned to cut toxic people out of my life. That doesn’t mean that I don’t care about them as human beings. I am simply making a choice not to have certain people be a part of my life due to valid reasons.

I have a good support system in place, a wonderful husband and daughters, friends, my faith and a therapist and that helps tremendously. I am grateful for all that is good in my life.

I was so looking forward to my daughter’s graduation because I did not get to visit her in Baton Rouge. Yes, she did visit us in New Orleans whenever she could but she has school and a job.

My daughter studies hard and is on the dean’s list and she could not visit as often as she would have like to. LSU has a rigorous academic program being our flagship school. Anyone that truly knows LSU knows it is more than football.

Do you know why Alabama and LSU are arch enemies? Bama’s coach used to be a coach at LSU and the rivalry began. Bama’s coach is fantastic! They beat LSU tons of times. We beat them this year with Coach O!

Anyway...sorry to ramble. I hope that you can appreciate my perspective on this situation. It’s been difficult and having a happy occasion like my daughter’s graduation to look forward to was nice. So, it was a huge disappointment for all of us. 😔.

My mom has only been out of my home for a few months.

Thanks, Shell

Yes, I am thinking about it. I definitely want some remembrance of her happy occasion. Just seems so odd right now.

I do love to cook. I cooked so much for mom everyday that this year with mom no longer living in my house, we went out to a restaurant for Christmas Eve for dinner, then attended Christmas Eve Midnight Mass. It was such a refreshing change! So, I don’t know if I want to cook or go out.

My daughter is so funny! Her boyfriend is the cook! She can cook a little. She helped me cook at home but he loves cooking and cooks for her! He’s a sweetheart. He treats my daughter well, unlike the jerk she was with before him. Thank God, she broke up with him. This guy is a good match for my daughter.