Not long ago, I posted a video on my YouTube Channel addressing whether it was ever too late to be a stay-at-home mom. I got the following response to that video from a listener, and she's my "guest blogger" for today, especially because this is the week a lot of parents send their kids back to school: Dear Dr. Laura:I have always been at home with my kids, who are now 11, 14, and 16. I am so thankful that I am still home with them, and feel it's just as important now as it was when they were little. Since I am home, all the kids come over here. I have the benefit of knowing my kids' friends and their parents well, and knowing where my kids are and who they are with. This has been especially important during the summer, when many kids spend long hours unsupervised. I knew my 16 year old was not out drinking or getting in trouble, because he was right here. We went swimming together one day, and talked about his plans for college and how he felt about the upcoming school year-another one of those precious and important conversations I would have missed if I wasn't here.During the school year, it's during the first 15 minutes after they get home that I hear all about their day, their troubles and their triumphs. I would miss that if I were at work. I am the mom who can pick up friends, work in the classroom, bake last minute cookies, and make a costume for drama, because I am home.The older they get, the more I realize how short our time is with them, and the more thankful I am for every minute. I enjoy my teens much more now than I did when they were little, and I am grateful every day that I will not miss their last year as children. And yes, you better believe that both I and the kids thank my wonderful husband that Mom is able to be at home during this critical time.Thanks for standing up for those of us who are at home doing "nothing" all day with our older kids.Lynn More >>

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William Taylor, from a Washington, D.C. suburb, cheated on his wife.' How do I know that?' Because he held a sign near Tyson's Corner Mall that read:' "I cheated and this is my punishment."' He stayed out on the corner for most of the morning commute, creating quite a commotion.' He and his wife brokered the deal.' He figured he had to do what she asked in order to make things right.When Fox TV interviewed women, they all loved the idea.' The print version of the story appeared on www.foxnews.com and it was followed by a series of reader comments.' Some of the responses suggested that castration was the best punishment for infidelity.' One (obviously male) writer pointed out that women seem to enjoy publicly humiliating men, but would not tolerate the reverse for exactly the same situation.That is true.' Feminism's perspective is that no matter what a woman does, it is the man's fault, and whatever a man does is the man's fault.' Hypothetical example:' a man and woman rob a bank.' He's a bad guy, and she is duped, clouded by love, or dominated by his will.' She's a sad victim, instead of a co-conspirator.' Another example:' a married man has an affair which lasts two weeks.' He comes guilt-ridden to his wife and confesses.' He tells her he's been so emotionally and sexually ignored by her for ten years, that he just absolutely needed some feminine attention and affection.' She ignores everything that comes after the confession and spends her time punishing him and whining to all who will listen.Women rarely take responsibility for any negative relationship issues, and that's largely because of the feminist brainwashing which has made them see all men as Darth Vader.'Here's another point:' in the development of our country, being humiliated in the public square was a standard form of punishment -- remember "stocks" and "pillories" from American history class?' There is something positive to be said about this concept of punishment - for men or women.'When we lived in small communities, the power of shame was potent, and probably dissuaded many from inappropriate behavior of all sorts.' The thought of being embarrassed in public is horrendous to most people, since our reputations are everything in interpersonal relationships.I bet that a lot of spouses, seeing this fellow out there, will remember him when they consider straying.' Consider it a kind of prophylactic for infidelity. More >>

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I usually spend little to no time at all on the "celebrity" sections of Internet news sites.' Frankly, I don't care what celebrities are doing, except in a performance for which I pay good money.' Every now and then, however, something comes to my attention that does make me want to comment.' This time, it's about actress Anne Heche.Apparently, Anne Heche went on the Late Show with David Letterman and ragged on her ex-husband.' She made fun of him collecting checks from her (as mandated by the court as spousal support) following their divorce.Tacky, mean, vindictive and very self-serving.Not long ago, I took a call from a woman who was complaining about her ex-shack-up honey's girlfriend, (the "homewrecker" as she called her).' Here's the gist of how that call went:Me:'Is this woman someone who took vows of fidelity to you?Caller:' NOMe: 'Is this man someone who took vows of fidelity to you?Caller:' NO.Me:'Is this man someone you simply shacked up with without a commitment?Caller:' YES.Me:'Did you decide to create two children in this insecure situation?Caller:' YESMe:'And you're mad at HER???While these two situations seem unrelated, they most certainly are related.' How?' When a person makes foolish decisions and then complains about the most typical, logical and predictable outcome, that is a person totally out of touch with the reality of life.' YOU make choices;' YOU should be willing to take responsibility for those choices and stop looking and acting as if you are an innocent victim of life's tidal waves.Anne Heche did a terrible thing to her ex-husband by humiliating him in public.' What did he do to earn that?' The court mandated the financial support.' I don't know the quality of choice she made in a husband, nor do I know what quality of wife she was.' All I see is that she is not classy, and that she takes no public responsibility for the demise of her marriage.Blaming everything and everyone else may be humorous if you do it on the Letterman show, but it doesn't speak to the truth (and ultimately, we all live with the truth).' She should have said nothing, or added "y'know, I have to take responsibility for my choices and actions here.' I don't like that a grown man is taking spousal support, but I have some responsibility for this marital fiasco too." Now THAT would be classy....and closer to the truth. More >>

Mice kept on a diet that is healthy (but absolutely no fun at all) in which their caloric intake was restricted to only 70% of what's considered "normal" lived 30 to 40% longer than the usual lifespan.' The only downside of this restriction was that the mice were less fertile than their non-restricted counterparts.'Most people can't restrict calories for long, so, according to the New York Times , scientists are trying to find a drug that tricks the body into thinking it's eating fewer calories.' The problem is that all of these restricted calorie experiments are done on captive mice, who are selected for quick breeding and who are fed on rich diets.' A low-calorie diet could be much closer to the diet that mice are adapted to in the wild, extending their life simply because it is much healthier for them.' Mice don't live that long, anyway.' Humans have a longer life span, and that extended duration of time on the planet leaves us more vulnerable to cancers.So, after 20 years of experimenting with caloric restriction on monkeys in captivity, studies found the monkeys were healthier (i.e., they had fewer incidents of diabetes, cancer, and heart disease), but their life span was not significantly longer.' Eating more prudently than we generally do, therefore, was good for quality of life, but not for quantity of life.And that's the point of my taking on this issue in the first place.' People call my radio program knowing they're probably going to die of some particular terminal disease they have.' They call me, because they're spending each day suffering emotionally over the realization that they will soon be dead.' My response to one woman in this situation was to wake up each morning and yell out loud: "Damn - I'm not dead!' Today, I'm gonna LIVE OUT LOUD!!!" The point of our being upset about death is the realization that we've lost all we value in life.' So, take each day that you're not dead to live life to the fullest.' Enjoy that day you're not dead.' Don't waste one precious moment of it.Come to think of it, that's good advice for everyone, since at different times, and at different rates, we're all terminal.' Don't waste one minute of life. More >>

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