Marriage seems banal because two people have agreed to share the banalities of life.

Marriage is work because life is work.

Cripes.

If the author who cheated on her husband maybe spent the time & energy she poured into her extramarital lover into her husband, maybe she would have not had to dissolve her 20 year marriage.

But whatever. It is her business. Seems like she is seeking societal absolution, blaming everyone but herself, for her failures.

LW-- in memory of Farrah Fawcett, who you will likely have no memories of, try to obtain a DVD of her film "The Burning Bed" if you can and watch it before you leave home for this boy, try to understand where your mom is coming from.

A note to the LW from last week, who wanted to see Michael Jackson in concert but couldn't afford the trip to Europe-- I am thinking of you today. I know that you and your sisters must be so devastated that he has died.

You can afford two residences if you sell your house and get seperate apartments.

Or you keep the kids in the house and get a seperate studio apartment for your wife.

Agreed with those who said it is time to visit a divorce attorney. The first thing you will do is examine your budget. They are experienced at looking at your income and expenses and explaining what the balance sheet will look like after your divorce.

DO NOT ABANDON YOUR MORTGAGE OR WRECK YOUR CREDIT. Have a realtor list your home after you have moved your wife out and changed the locks.

Create a financially responsible exit plan. Cut expenses in one area if you can (i.e., stop sending your kids to private school and enroll them in public school if that is applicable) so that you can afford a small studio apartment for your wife to live in. She knew this was coming. You told her at the first suicidal act.

I am so sorry that there is no easy way out of this.

Cary is right on both counts.

You don't have to demonize sexuality or shame your son or the girl for doing what comes naturally-- but do have a discussion with him regarding the practical consequences and necessary precautions. Talk to him about his future plans, how he can protect his plans, and how he can employ self-respect and respect for his partners as a gentleman.

It is a myth that all men refuse to wear condoms. Nice, good men do wear protection and can enjoy themselves while not putting their partners at risk for an unwanted pregnancy or std.

It is okay that you personally feel awkward about his having sex and don't want your son doing it in your home. He is still a dependant teenager after all, not like a grown man in his 20s who is bringing home his fiancee at the holidays.

There is something just too weird about parents and children being comfortable with each other's sexuality. There is no need to push it.

I remember very briefly dating a guy in college who introduced me to his father very early into our experience and it was very clear he was showing me off to his dad as a sexual conquest rather as a girl he was dating. The "relationship" lasted about 30 seconds after that because I didn't feel I had his respect and the idea that sons would try to brag to their dads about their sex lives grossed me out on so many different levels.

I am a pregnant woman, mother of two with one more on the way-- all wanted. I never had an abortion and due to my Catholic upbringing, personally I could not have an abortion without significant emotional complications. That is my truth, for me. I part ways with my Catholic upbringing in many other ways, though, and employ birth control when not desiring to have another child.

I became pro choice in college, on an intellectual level, upon discovering that the notion of when life begins is a religious one and our country is based in religious freedom. My body my choice, it is not that difficult to understand that each woman is deserving of that autonomy.

During my first pregnancy, during the first five months of morning sickness, I became pro-choice on a gut instinctual and emotional level. This only intensified during my second pregnancy in which I hemmoraged for over a month and was resigned to bed rest and lost work. My third pregnancy helped put the nails in the coffin of my career aspirations.

All of my children were wanted and I have zero regrets about what sacrifices and discomforts were involved in bringing them into existence.

Pregnancy involves a great more than swollen ankles, something as man you will never be able to understand viscerally.

Some women, like Michelle Duggar, can apparently handle pregnancy with ease to the point where being pregnant is virtually indistinguishable to not being pregnant.

Most woman don't have such an easy ride for the ten (not nine) months that pregnancy takes over their bodies, or the six to twelve weeks of postpartum healing that is required after the baby is born.

A pro-choice person values the rights and well-being of the woman first. Period.

my son was 6 months old when he discovered his own genitals. he nearly did a somersault trying to get a good look.

i guess if they have another boy they can keep up the facade.

My mom makes a great potato salad but she uses chopped raw onions which "repeat" later in the day.

I experimented and found a tasty substitution for raw onions by using curry powder and cutting the mustard portion in half.