New stepbrother is a weirdo who likes ‘triggering' me. Hax readers give advice.
Dear Carolyn: My dad married a great woman last year, and while we're still getting acquainted, I like her a lot. She has a beautiful house on a lake, and she and my dad invited me and her son, Jack, to spend Memorial Day weekend with them. I'd only met Jack a few times during the wedding planning and then the actual wedding, but he seemed okay. We had both recently graduated from college and talked mainly about our job searches.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Want to race a duck for a cause? Shelby event is back July 26
SHELBY — Hudson's Duck Drop returns to Shelby on July 26. This third annual fundraiser will support the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio. According to an announcement, the event will feature the release of over 1,000 rubber ducks from the Main Street Bridge into the Black Fork River. The ducks will race to the finish line at the Parrot Head Pub patio. Each duck can be adopted for a $10 donation, with proceeds benefiting families in need. The event honors the memory of Hudson Curren, who faced significant health challenges from a young age. Hudson was born prematurely on July 24, 2018, and later diagnosed with a mitochondrial disease known as Alpers. This condition led to many hospital stays, including a medically induced coma. During these times, the Ronald McDonald House provided crucial support to Hudson's family, allowing them to stay close to their son at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Hudson passed away shortly after his first birthday on Aug. 31, 2019. The first Hudson's Duck Drop took place in July 2023, surpassing its original goal of 200 ducks by dropping 580 ducks and raising $6,000 for the charity. In 2024, the event featured 870 ducks and raised $10,750. For 2025, organizers hope to exceed 1,000 ducks. The event will take place from 5-9 p.m. July 26 at the Parrot Head Pub, 16 Mohican St., Shelby. Attendees can enjoy live music, a food truck, games for children and a silent auction featuring items donated by local businesses. While adopting a duck is encouraged, it is not required to attend the free event. Participants who adopt ducks will have the chance to win cash and prizes if their ducks are among the first three to cross the finish line or if they are the last duck to finish. Ducks can be adopted online or in person at the Parrot Head Pub. Those who adopt do not need to be present to win. The silent auction will feature a variety of items, which can be previewed online before the event. However, all bids must be made in person on the day of the Duck Drop. Hudson's Duck Drop shirts and stickers will be available for purchase in advance at but will not be sold at the event. Sponsors of Hudson's Duck Drop 2025 include Parrot Head Pub, Derr's Painting, Neeley Dirt Works, Hockenberry Trucking & Excavating, ArcelorMittal, Spitzer Motors of Mansfield and Brian R. Gates and Michelle Gates State Farm Insurance Agency. The Parrot Head Pub is committed to maintaining the area along the river and has implemented beautification projects and flood mitigation efforts. Volunteers will ensure that all ducks are numbered and accounted for at the finish line, with a net in place to prevent any ducks from being left behind. This story was created by Jane Imbody, jimbody@ with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Hudson's Duck Drop returns to Shelby with prizes and a purpose
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What age can kids stay home alone in NY? Here's what to know
The academic year has ended, and students are home for the summer. For many working parents, finding a reliable babysitter or securing a spot at a summer camp isn't always easy. That leaves some wondering: Can I leave my child home alone? And if that's the only option—how young is too young? Unlike some states, New York does not set a legal minimum age for leaving children home alone. According to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, children mature at different rates, and some may have special needs or abilities. Therefore, it's up to parents or guardians to make thoughtful, informed decisions. When making that decision, consider: Maturity: Has your child shown the ability to handle responsibility? Preparedness: Can they manage basic tasks like preparing food or knowing what to do in an emergency? Circumstances: How long will they be alone, and in what setting? Very young children, of course, should never be left unsupervised. While there's no law in New York setting a specific age, parents can still face legal consequences—such as child endangerment—if something goes wrong while a child is left home alone. Though there is no one-size-fits-all answer, suggests that most children are ready to stay home alone around age 12 or 13, depending on their maturity. Experts also recommend looking at your child's behavior at school. If your child tends to follow rules and act responsibly in a structured environment, that's a good sign they may be ready for some unsupervised time at home. If they tend to misbehave or push boundaries, it may be wise to wait. Contributing: USA Today Network This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: What age can kids stay home alone in NY? Here's what to know
Fast Company
an hour ago
- Fast Company
Forget Gen-Z's micro-retirements. Try micro-joy
Some days, 'Have a great day!!!' is just too much to ask. You might even be tempted to respond to this effusive well-wisher: 'Have you seen the news?' 'Have you seen my to-do list?' 'Have you seen my team's numbers?' 'Have you seen my sleep score?' Some days, you might just settle for 'Having a day.' And yet, that doesn't feel great either. It would be nice to do more than get through the week, to do more than endure. I have guided many leaders whose company cultures were built on endurance. I have endured many days myself. I know how easy it is to paint a day or week as categorically 'hard' or 'bad.' But calling a whole day 'bad' is like calling a gravel driveway 'flat.' Sure, from a distance it's flat-ish, but from an ant's point of view, it might as well be a mountain range. What we sometimes miss is that even on aggressively bad days, there is often an hour or two that is kind of okay. Or maybe every single last hour is hard, but within an hour, there is a minute when you laugh at a colleague's joke or check out your good hair day in the mirror. Even if you're in a meeting when every last minute is painful reviewing your business's financials, you still have access to a delicious five seconds of deeply breathing in the smell of your coffee. Or in other words: You can thin-slice your joy. Because the last thing harried, overworked people need is to add 'learn meditation' to their to-do list. Similarly, deciding to focus on fewer things sounds nice, but your boss may respectfully disagree. It would also be good to distance yourself from people who stress you out and demand your attention unfairly, but you know what? Sometimes those people are your kids. In these moments, you can thin-slice your joy in two ways: savoring the joy already present in your day, and creating new moments of micro-joy. Savoring your daily joys Like scarfing down a meal while watching TV or getting some work done, it's easy to anesthetize ourselves to pleasure without realizing it. The good news is that it takes the same amount of time to chew mindlessly as it does to savor the taste of your food—it simply requires attention. Here are three no-time-required actions you can take to bank more joy from your day: Appreciate a quirk. In your next meeting, look around the room (2D or 3D) and identify one quirky thing you like about a colleague. Maybe someone throws their head back when they laugh and it's joyful. Or another person drums their fingers when they're about to share a good idea. It's an appreciation of their humanity and individuality, which makes us feel closer to them. Smell first. Before sipping your coffee, tea, or other beverage, take three seconds to smell it first. Risk looking indulgent: close your eyes and breathe in for three seconds—then sip. If it's a particularly rough day, sprinkle some cinnamon on that cappuccino. This practice is especially useful when you feel 'in your head.' Reconnecting with our senses brings us back to the present moment. Revel in your work. The next time you write a particularly funny Slack message, a compelling email, or create some bit of work that's better than your average, take one minute to simply stare at it and enjoy how clever you are. We're so often on to the next thing—and when we do review our work, we often do so with a critical eye—that we miss the part where we feel pleased with ourselves! Even enjoying a cute turn of phrase in an email is plenty to savor. Creating new micro-joys It would be lovely if we all had the time, energy, and budget to take up new hobbies, make new friends, and take two-hour lunch breaks. And if you can, you should! But also, joy is not all-or-nothing. A good thought experiment to get you dreaming about micro-joys is to consider what sort of habits, experiences, or moments bring you the most joy—and then identify their smallest viable unit. Here are three micro-joys to try this week: Ask a random question. The next time you see a colleague you like, take two minutes to get to know them a bit better. You could say, 'Random question: What's your middle name?' or 'Random question: Do you have siblings?' Longitudinal studies of human happiness are very clear about what matters—and that's the quality of our relationships. And yet, how often do we work with people and not know even the most basic facts about them? These questions shouldn't be a long diversion from your work—even a minute of knowing someone better and that person feeling seen can be a high point of joy in your day. Do a doodle a day. Spend two minutes on a simple doodle. Maybe you draw a different timepiece each day (watch! clocktower!). Maybe it's an abstract shape or a hand-lettered word. Maybe you draw a family of ducks, one day at a time. Bonus points if you do each doodle on a Post-it and then create a collection at your desk. We benefit from art, play, and self-expression during the workday, but maybe you'd garner some side-eye if you set up an easel in the office. If you love art, then a daily doodle can be your version of a micro-joy. Misbehave. Mischief at work can give us a much-needed shot of adrenaline, connection, and adventure. This might look like rearranging the office furniture, using Comic Sans font in your next presentation, or playing a quick round of 'guess that tune' with your colleagues as you hum your favorite throwback song. At best, work is steak: rich, juicy, delicious. But sometimes it's just not—sometimes work is broccoli. On those days, your job is to throw some cheese on it. Never gonna give you up . . . never gonna let you down. . . take it, reader! Louder, so coworkers can hear!
