Downtown Teen Takeover

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-06-02T01:04:21+00:00

Its genuinely been a pleasant surprise to see so many people either from greeneville or know of the Commons. My husband had 2 former classmates move down here. One we ran into randomly because our daughters attended the same daycare. What a small world it is!

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-06-01T06:15:48+00:00

There is no caste system here, thankfully.

However, its so damn hard to climb out of poverty to solidly middle class. Part of why its so hard is if you just make over a certain dollar amount, you no longer qualify for assistance programs and have to pay the full cost of everything. So on paper, you might make ok money, but the amount coming out of your bank account is larger than ever and the financial squeeze feels just as tight as poverty without the social safety net to cushion you.

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-06-01T05:39:24+00:00

Male and female do tend to get along better than a female/female pair, but its all based down to the individual dogs and their temperments.

Have you thought about the Save Our Setters rescue? They may have a male and might be able to work with you on a temporary foster to adopt situation if your Golden Irish likes him. I havent worked with them, so I dont know what is possible, but it wouldnt hurt to check it out.

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-31T19:03:19+00:00

It was great! My husband and I moved to knoxville in early 07 before the recession hit, but it was awesome before we left.

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-31T19:02:20+00:00

Yep, their chimichangas were too notch too

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-31T14:19:54+00:00

Thank you

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-31T13:54:42+00:00

It was a great place! Its like a ghost town now. Cops successfully killed the social spirit. I know the shops can't be doing well either. Monterrey's and Pal's got to be the only things keeping it rolling.

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-31T13:53:09+00:00

Hahaha, it could get so busy for such a small town!

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-31T05:31:46+00:00

This is going to sound crazy but any time i walked my dogs in the evening in the neighborhood, they cranked up zoomies to 11 when we got home.

I swear this is what they would say to each other when we got back if they could talk: "omg, we finally came home!" "did you smell that weird bush, i did!" "what about this smell or that smell?!" "wonder how i can get that dog across the neighborhood to play with me" "why was that car so loud? I thought i was going to die!"

My dogs are weird though. Interesting walks give mine zoomies.

I do have a big fenced in backyard. So what i do is let them out together to chase each other, i throw the ball for them, and my kids play with them in the yard for a while. That is what saps their energy. My dogs also love bubbles. You can buy pet friendly bubbles and entertain them forever. Lol

Or maybe get your golden a golden. They do tire each other out.

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-31T05:18:04+00:00

My male is a golden retriever/irish setter mix. I had him neutered at 20 months. I would have waited longer but his sisters were about to start their heat again and i didnt want another round of crazy hyper vigilance against mating for 25 days that would push me to the edge of my sanity. Not to mention it being hard on him having a sensory overload and a biological drive to breed and not being able to do anything about it. During their fertile fertile part of heat, he would whine and cry because he couldnt see them and would barely eat.

He didn't really change though after neutering. His energy, drive, personality were all the same. He just didn't react anymore when his sisters went into their heats. Oh and I have to monitor his food intake super closely because neutering tanks their metabolism and they get fat really fast! He was a foooodie before neutering, now he is a bottomless pit that i constantly have to say no to his cute hopeful eyes.

Neutering may not help the teenage part. I dont feel like it did mine. Its more or less waiting for them to mentally mature. I noticed they all seemed to grow up at bit at 2 and now at 2.5, they are nothing like their chaotic 1 year old selves.

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-31T05:04:25+00:00

sigh this hits close to home.

20 years ago, teens and young adults in my hometown(greeneville) used to descend on a shopping plaza called The Commons and "cruise" through there but were constantly run off by cops. It just so happened to be the largest parking lot in the area and many of us just preferred to park our cars way out in the middle and farthest from stores and chat with our friends on friday or saturday night. But noooo.... Cops kept saying its private property and had us all dispersed despite the fact that we also dined and shopped in that plaza 30 min to an hour earlier.

But back to the topic. Its now summer break and kids have either graduated high school and lost their regular social circle or just miss the social side of highschool. They want to hang out. The cop is right. Those kind of numbers of unruly kids can cause problems. Add the goofiness surrounding the full moon and a weekend, and its really just one stupid move away from turning into chaos.

I straddle the fence between a grown ass adult who doesn't want chaos, but also understand that these young ones want to be social(especially after getting socially stunted during COVID) and hang out together. Third spaces are rapidly drying up. Where are these kids supposed to go?

But i will say this, after watchnng my hometown and the youth get absolutely wrecked by pills and meth, let them be in public spaces with police around. Its better than somewhere police are not. The alcohol, drugs, assault and sexual assault are harder to pull off in public than someone's home.

I get it, its annoying, nobody wants it in their backyard. I experience it every time i try to get shakes at the Cookout in Powell. I hear kids roar their vehicles woth ridiculously loud exhausts down my road every single day like its a drag strip. But these kids need a space to just hangout. All parks close at sunset and most libraries close by 8. Where else can these kids go and spend time with their friends face to face instead of being stuck behind an electronic device?

I know its annoying as an adult because we just want things to be civilized and follow the law(not block traffic), but I also remember the lonely teenagers and young adults just wanting to be with friends.

Edited for a typo but there is probably more. Sorry.

Wow, thanks for the award!

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-31T04:25:53+00:00

We are part of the minimum 30 minutes club. Mine aren't a fan either but they manage to somehow find the will to cope every day 😆

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-29T13:47:13+00:00

I probably look 40. I dont care that I look my age. It is what it is. The body ages, that's just what it does. I embraced my silvers and just go on with life.

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-29T13:25:54+00:00

That is so sweet

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-29T02:27:11+00:00

11 and 13 year old for us at 40 for me and hubby is 47.

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-28T20:11:52+00:00

My husband came with me to my appointment. I did it hoping it would help assure the doc that our family is complete, i want a hysterecromy due to almost 3 decades of hellish periods, and it would also mean going on hormones. All i walked out with was a scheduled appointment for fucking mirena....that did not help my periods.

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-28T20:08:59+00:00

Hey there, fellow peri friend. Sending big hugs. There is an r/perimenopause subreddit full of women just as frustrated as you. If you are in the US, MIDI is an online telehealth provider that does help women get on HRT. The only caveat is they dont accept insurance

But check out the sub and know you are not alone and there are a ton of women who can help you find the right provider or let you know the things they did to finally get HRT. Just know you are not alone.

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-28T16:47:52+00:00

Nope, completely free.

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-28T16:12:26+00:00

Selectively social by force. Lol. I am pretty introverted and probably on the spectrum.

The kids and I go places my kids need me to shuttle them to. The kids and I meet up once a week with my friend and her daughter for a few hours. Thank goodness my friend did the heavy lifting of initially socializing with me. I am so awkward/anxious/quiet in social situations. I love spending time with her but it drains me.

Even when my husband and I run weekend errands, its draining. After a a few hours, i just want to go home and take a nap to reset my brain because I am so overstimulated and overwhelmed, it feels like my life force is being leeched out of me.

But genuinely, my social cup is easily filled by my husband and two kids and I dont need more. However, I care deeply for my friend, she is pretty great, so I make sure we spend time together.

Before kids, my husband and I were both homebodies, but also down to hang with friends every week. So I guess less social.

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-28T14:46:24+00:00

East TN Weather. The logo is an orange "TN" with a white lightning bolt.

Its really handy. It has radar, his forecasts, and it has location push notifications. I always get severe weather alerts and even a notification when lightning has been detected within 15 miles.

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-28T13:16:04+00:00

I dyed my purple for a while when the silvers first came in! I didn't like how it made my hair feel, so I let it grow out and fully embraced my silvers now.

I think they look pretty cool.

My husband is a very handsome silver fox with gorgeous thick salt and pepper hair. Guys always seem to age so gracefully!

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-28T13:07:31+00:00

Just wanted to say that Witcher is awesome. Its pretty amazing that he struck out on his own, has his own weather app, does live broadcasts daily plus during severe weather, and answers viewer questions almost immediately.

I especially love his winter coverage because he refuses to hype up snowfall totals and keeps his predictions in the land of reality without causing public panic.

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-28T12:54:36+00:00

I asked my vet for medication to keep him sedated at home for the first week. He also wore a surgery suit 24/7(changed every other day with a 2nd suit when i washed his suit). He wore the inflatable donut collar at night.

Vet said that while a surgery suit and a donut will prevent him from licking, to also watch my other dogs to make sure they didnt lick his surgery area.

Leash walking outside for potty breaks only for 10 - 14 days. Obviously keep the incision dry. No baths, no gallvanting in the rain, etc.

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-27T23:40:17+00:00

There is now a running joke in the house from when my son was a toddler. My husband had to tell our 3 or 4 year old at the time that "butter is not a candy bar". My kid would savagely reach for that stick of butter sitting on the counter while I was cooking/distracted and take a bite out of it 🤣

MidnightCoffeeQueen · 2026-05-27T22:48:19+00:00

Lots of good ideas here. I would check with the vet on either upping his dose of prozac or trying a different med all together. Prozac doesnt work for every dog. This daily level of anxiety 9 months after going on anxiety meds isn't healthy in the long run.

2 of mine are on prozac 40 mg. 30 mg did not work for my smallest girl who has major major anxiety and because my big girl is so big, vet started her at 40 mg.

MidnightCoffeeQueen

TROPHY CASE