I consider the fact that I am not pregnant as a pleasant counterpoint to not getting maternity leave.

Interestingly, those spots are not actually legally enforced the way handicap spots are, so they are just put up by stores who feel like it. The only place around my that has them is a massive grocery store with historically horrifying parking, and I will willingly admit that I have parked in them once or twice while…

I think for people who do not have children, friends' pregnancies can be weird - we know that new moms need rest, and we don't necessarily know how to help with children in the first place, and we don't want to be invasive, and we know the friendship will have to change, so it can be hard to know how to interact.…

What a terrible approach to motherhood and fertility. God sent me a "message" that I wasn't meant to be a mother, and that was my total terror of the motherhood, pregnancy, and offspring in general. If I could donate my fertility to another woman (without, you know, actually bearing the children) I would.

That is weird and awful and I am sorry you have to put up with that nonsense!

I am also terrified of pregnancy. I do not want children myself, and I really do not want to be pregnant, and if I think too much about it, pregnant women do sort of scare me - because of all the reasons I do not want it myself. I do think though that some people love everything about it, and that is not necessarily…

We did a little research into possible causes of my husband's food weirdness, and one of the possible explanations was something called Adult Selective Eating Disorder. The list of foods that, for some reason or other, was most often approved by people with the disorder match up very closely with what my husband will…

I don't mind, he is sometimes! He is actually the most infuriating person in the history of ever, but he has his moments. He tells me that he read an article about how people like him - on the spectrum and on the less empathetic side, etc. - often end up with people like me, who are very empathetic and emotional. On…

Thanks. It was, while the most awful thing I have gone through, ever (we lost the cat and I almost lost my husband) it was instructive. We found out more about his diagnosis on the autism spectrum, and figured out what we had to do in certain situations. I am generally the one falling apart, but sometimes he needs…

My husband and I are both introverts - he is much more introverted and I am a very outgoing introvert, but the similarity is that we both need alone time to recharge. In this case I assume the friend is a classic extrovert - big groups bring her energy and being alone for too long is taxing. I generally know which…

It's become a running joke for us, but at the time I was furious - my guy is sort of not good at handling emotional situations (I mean, he has Aspergers, and when I am not furious or melting down I am understanding) and really just wanted to go to sleep. Since cats make HIM feel better, and he didn't want to deal with…

Yeah, I graduated in 2010 into a region that has a library school, which made things significantly worse than they already were. My now-husband had a good job in the area so we stayed, which did nothing for my career at all. I wish you all of the luck in finding a good job, and sympathize hugely with the struggles.…

Blissfully, my family seems to have either forgotten or chooses not to mention it. I think they're just all glad I grew out of some of that - I used to break hairbrushes and things out of sheer, miserable frustration. In college I graduated to just throwing shoes, but for the last few years I seem to have gotten to a…

Yeah, he is very healthy, but as far as I can tell, it does not go away. I do pretty much all of those things, just for a husband instead of a child. When we go out to eat he can eat a plain hamburger or a cheese pizza, unless breakfast options are available. On our honeymoon I had to take a tour coordinator aside and…

I am 100% with you on all fronts.

That sounds like hell and I completely understand. Springing 11 other people on you was NOT COOL.

Yeah I once dumped coffee (with cream and sugar) on a car that stole my spot and it wasn't anywhere near that dramatic.

This doesn't count as a meltdown and it's way too personal to share much, but a disappearing cat literally caused my husband to have a full-on breakdown and have to go to a hospital.

I once went to a formal event in college and was supposed to meet a guy friend there. I had invited him, and he was coming later because I had a special invitation to a thing beforehand that I couldn't bring him to. I had invited him in what I thought was clearly a "we have been almost romantic for weeks now, here's a…

That is because being 13 is hell. I do not remember what age I was when I kicked a hole in a wall because I didn't want to go to the dentist (I REALLY did not want to go and do not entirely understand why, but I think part of the problem was braces and that I had not remembered that I had an appointment that day.…