I am feeling like for Casper to succeed at this challenging and competitive high school I have to quit my job.

Is it at all possible for her to go to a good but not crazy competitive school instead where she can be responsible for her own work?

Man, high school stuff is crazy hard these days, I can't even imagine needing my parents to help me at that level. They both worked and definitely weren't around to do that at all, ever.

Not unless we want to do private school, not really. Signed, hello high-poverty city school district with three good magnet high schools - our current one, a performing arts one that requires audition, and a Montessori one that requires Montessori history. Nothing else is actually college prep, though some say they are.

I should say, the school she's at s really good, and I think she'll get a good education, but the work load is really heavy for a 12 year old.

Wait, she's 12 and in high school?

there has to be a happy medium between what flea has and not ever seeing an assignment come home.

Yay -t, my tai chi sistah!

She's just not capable of keeping up with it all without a LOT of parent help, and I simply do not have the energy to be checking every assignment every night.

Ugh. Franny just brought home a math test that she failed so I had to sign it. And when I say she failed, man, it was an epic fail, a work of art, so incorrect were her answers. sigh. Arrgh!

Dillo, for his part, is 9 years old and still has to be reminded to poop regularly. At least Casper is in charge of her own shitting?

OMG, are we parenting twins in some sort of hellish set up or what? My boy still needs to be reminded that there's basic hygiene requirements he needs to attend to. Like flushing. And he still tries to lie to get out of brushing his teeth. WTH?

I started my taxes, aka I signed into turbo tax and verified profile info. I've got 2 w2s this year, received yesterday. Think I might still be missing a 1099 int. This weekend.

Oh, a brief gripe: we lost the union vote, I'm bummed.

Tomorrow night is the memorial for our friend who died last week, which will be the third memorial/visitation/funeral we've had in as many weeks (first one of Tim's childhood friends died, then my cousin, then our friend). And my brother is struggling with his sobriety and relapsing into drinking, and I've been his sounding board for a LOT of the last 2 weeks.

I'm just exhausted from the emotional labor, you know? I'm bad at that stuff anyway, but coming all at once like it has in the last 3 weeks is just ridiculous.

Oh, that s a lot to carry, Steph. I'm sorry.