INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Your friends and family will be able to support you better if they understand what you are going through. Find a few high-quality websites, books, or other sources of information about your illness and share them with the people in your life. Consider talking with loved ones individually, in small groups, and on social media. Start by speaking with friends and family in person before you move on to less formal forms of communication. You might sit down together and do a basic Google search about your condition. Communicate the symptoms you experience, explain what treatments you are undergoing, and the prognosis of your condition. Encourage questions. You might say, "Terry, we've been friends for a long time, and I don't want things to be awkward because of my diagnosis. Is there anything you want to ask me about the disease?" Getting more information about your condition can give both you and your friends a peace of mind. Suggest that they accompany you to doctor's visits and specialist appointments to learn more about your illness and how they can help. Your loved ones may also be able to help by catching information that you might miss due to nervousness or being distracted. In addition to speaking with medical professionals, you and your friends can also participate in support groups for people with your condition. Speaking with others who have your illness can help you know what to expect and also get advice about how others can support you. Your friends may want to support you, but not know how. If you wish that someone would give you a hand with something, ask. You'll get the help you need, and your friends will feel better about knowing exactly what to do for you. Consider asking a friend to pick up groceries for you, help you with chores around the house, take your kids to the park so you can rest, or just sit and talk with you for a while. Make a list of the things you are struggling to get done. If someone asks what they can do to help, give them one of the tasks. When managing your friendships, you can't sit around and feel sorry for yourself when friends aren't calling you back or never coming around. They may just not know what to say to you or how to help. Reach out to them and break the ice. Call up a friend who has been a no-show and make a light-hearted joke. Say something like "Geez, Rebecca, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, not cooties. It's not contagious. I would love to see your face more often!"

SUMMARY: Educate your loved ones about your illness. Invite friends to doctor's appointments. Tell your friends what you need from them. Take the initiative when friends disappear.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: After three years, or two if you started the asparagus from crowns, it's time to enjoy your harvest. Cut the spears every few days using a sharp knife or scissors. As your plants produce more spears, you may have to harvest them more often. Spears are ready to be harvested when they are about 6 inches (15 cm) high, and the tips begin to loosen. Limit the first harvest to two or three weeks, picking spears every few days, and taking care not to pick too many from the same plant. Spears will come up thinner the longer you harvest. A good rule of thumb is to stop harvesting once the spears are about the size of a pencil, allowing the plant to devote energy to its root systems from then on. The following year, extend your harvest time to four or five weeks. In the succeeding years, you can extend it to six. At the end of the growing season, stop picking the spears and allow them to grow to their natural height. Keep the asparagus bed weeded, watered, and free of pests throughout the summer. In the fall, cut the fronds down and remove them from the area so no pests will overwinter in the asparagus bed.

SUMMARY: Pick the spears. Prepare the plants for next year.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: If your waiter or waitress is not the only person who's served you in some way, it's customary to tip the other servers, too. For example, if you received the benefit of a wine steward, it's customary to also tip 15 percent the cost of the bottle of wine. You can tip the coatroom attendant about $1 per coat or $2 for the parking valet or garage attendant, if you've left your car with them while dining. You can leave a smaller tip to your restaurant server if the food is served buffet style or the server brings you drinks only, but you should still tip between 10 and 15 percent. Some restaurants have washroom attendants; tip them 50 cents to $1. You might want to tip the headwaiter or captain separately also. When buying something over a counter, say morning coffee, you are generally not expected to tip. You can download apps to your smart phone that will calculate the tip for you if you plug in the amount of your bill. Most smart phones also come with a calculator, which will allow you to calculate the tip yourself, depending on the amount you decide to leave. Various websites will calculate the tip for you. All you have to do is plug in the amount of your bill, and the percentage amount of the tip you want to leave. In some states, the sales tax is about 5 percent. If that's the case, you could multiply the sales tax listed on your bill by three in order to get 15 percent. If you used any coupons or discounts, calculate the tip based on how much you would've paid without it. Otherwise, you're punishing the waiter for the restaurant management's efforts to bring you in the door. Many servers absolutely rely on tips to survive. The fact they receive tips is calculated into a lower hourly wage in the first place. It's not uncommon for servers to make just over $2 an hour before they receive tips. They often make well under minimum wage. Although American states have different minimum wages, the federal minimum wage for tipped restaurant workers is just $2.13. Some servers also are required to share or pool their tips at the end of the night or to contribute for tips to bartenders, lowering their overall haul. You are not legally required to leave a tip, however you're being very unfair to your server if you do not do so. There's no upside in being a jerk, but if you truly received awful service, you shouldn't feel obligated to leave a full tip. Try communicating with the server first, though, about what's making you unhappy to give the server a chance to fix it. A tip to a server is meant to acknowledge good service. If your server ignored you, had a bad attitude, or served your food late, it's OK to not leave a full tip. Assess how the food matched your order, whether the food was hot and fresh, how attentive the server was, how quickly your empty dishes were removed, and whether the server was courteous. You might want to explain the lack of a tip, in nice and constructive terms, on the bill when you pay the check, though. Some believe you should still give at least 10 percent even if you've received poor service. Take care to determine whether the poor service was really the server's fault. For example, perhaps the kitchen didn't get the food to the server on time or management understaffed the restaurant. It can make a server's day to be told you thought their service wasn't just good but was impeccable. Why not let them know? Write a little note on the bill when you pay your bill explaining what you thought the server did really well. Better yet, call over the manager and tell the manager about the good job the server did. Always treat your server to a smile and be kind and polite. Service jobs can be stressful enough without people taking out their bad days on the server!

SUMMARY:
Tip other restaurant staff. Use a tip generating app. Realize why tipping matters. Leave a smaller tip for very poor service. Tell your server if the service was great.