u/jmcl1987

Have not had a relationship with my mom since Easter 2023, but can’t say zero contact because of my dad, still have a relationship with him and if I want to be able to see him or his side of the family I have no choice but to see/interact.

My dad had an ablation procedure today on his heart and I picked them up and drove to the hospital and back. I was there to support him but for some reason she thought I guess I was there for her. First she asked me to drive her back home while his procedure was going on, trapping me in the car with her. She can’t stand more than a few seconds of silence so it was just more opportunity to talk and not have my phone as a distraction. It was hard to say no with her making all these excuses about why we should go but I held strong.

Then she was annoyed when I didn’t want to go eat lunch with her. Once again, there to support my dad but I can’t say that of course. A random sampling of conversations I couldn’t get out of: how big my cousins boobs got (runs in the family not a shocker) and how fat she’ll get when she’s pregnant, when I lived with my ex husband in the apartments across the street remember we didn’t even have sheets, oh and they have $20 total for the next week. First she mentioned it in case my dad needed more medication but in the same breath she was concerned about how to get cigarettes (smokes two packs a day)

I said to my husband I try to think about days like this as lessons on how not treat our kids when they are older but man I’m so sick of learning and feeling like I got punched in the gut at the same time.

Not new to gardening but this is my first year growing dahlias and I’m so excited! My neighbor had some last year and I think I downloaded the plant ID app for the first time just to find out what exactly it was!

So I’m planning on putting tubers in some large pots that are heavy like ceramic/terracotta, they are painted professionally so sealed properly, marked frost resistant etc. I’m in zone 6b so I know that the dahlias can’t stay outside all winter. I do have a garage though that is/will be heated to a comfortable temperature all winter, and I’ll have other perennials overwintering in there.

My question is, if I leave the tubers in the pots, and they stay on a pallet in the garage so the cold concrete doesn’t change the temps, can I leave the tubers where they are?

Would love to hear any suggestions/advice/stories from others in the same zone :)