I've had two different high deductible health plans, and they are frustrating for many reasons. One big issue is that you can't plan your expenses because no one will give you a price quote before you go to the doctor. This is incredibly frustrating, especially if you're on a budget.

But some high deductible health plans are even worse. I had a Blue Cross high deductible plan through my last job, and it didn't cover preventative care at all. Want to get a pap smear or a mammogram? The cost was all out of pocket, and it didn't even count toward the deductible. However, I didn't qualify for low cost programs because technically, I was insured. A lot of people complained about this, but it seemed to affect the women at the company most often, because more of our routine care seemed to fall under the "uncovered preventative care" exception than the health issues experienced by my male co-workers.

Not all high deductible plans are the same - I'm pretty happy with the one I have now, which doesn't have this "preventative care exception" - but I always wondered why a pap smear was considered "uncovered preventative care" while a routine prostate exam was not.

My parents both died when I was fairly young, and so I also had to deal with all the "stuff" they left. I also live in a small apartment, so I couldn't just put it all in a closet or attic. I just couldn't keep everything, and I had to pick just a few things that I had room to keep.

I would suggest keeping just a few of the paintings. Two or three paintings will help you remember your mother just as well as twenty or thirty. You don't have to hang them all - you could just hang one and then switch it for a different one every few months. Paintings store nicely in the space behind your sofa, if you have it up against a wall. Or you might want to ask at an art store for a better way to store them.

Take pictures of the other ones. You will still have the memories of these items, even though you don't actually have the paintings - you can show them to your daughter one day. And then let them go. You might want to donate them - the art store or an art school might have suggestions on who might want them. It may be painful to let them go, to think of the paintings being given away to someone who doesn't value their history the way you do. But try to remember, they're just things. The real value is in your memories, not in the canvas and paint.

I'm surprised only one post has mentioned the health insurance question. College medical services are not always great, but at least there is something. Students who are forced out of school and who aren't covered by a parents' insurance may find they have few options.

I went to a therapist a few years back, when I didn't have health insurance. And once I ran out of money, my therapy ended. The only suggestion was that I either get a second job to pay for it or max out my credit cards. I was referred to a "low cost therapy" program that had a more than 2 year waiting list. The sliding scale programs told me that I made too much money to qualify (even though I was barely breaking minimum wage). I was basically told "too bad, come back when you're either dying or destitute - otherwise we can't help you."

For some suicidal students, a leave of absense may be the best solution. But forcing students out of school is nothing more than CYA - so what if forcing the student out cuts them off from needed therapy, it's not our problem any more. The only important thing is making sure they can't sue.

This situation involves more questionable issues, beyond the brother-sister issue. The girl's age would raise a red flag with me even if they weren't related.

However, I'm adopted, and back when I was dating, I sometimes wondered - how would I know if I started dating a relative? I searched for my birth parents a few years back, just to get medical information, and I found out that my birth father works in the same (somewhat unsuual) field that I do, but he refused to give me his name or any identifying information. I could have met him and never known. (Probably a good thing I never had a fling with one of my professors.)

As far as genetic issues, repeatedly intermarrying within a limited gene pool is far more dangerous than a single marriage between close relatives, even as close as brother and sister. The rates of genetic disease among the Amish are astronomical, even though the Amish don't marry their siblings and first cousin marriage isn't all that common. But no one is telling the Amish that they have to marry outside their group, even though their risk is very high.