It’s so interesting to think about that idea - the cat and mouse “game”. Indeed, it’s more powerful to have someone unattainable want you, but only if they truly do. I can’t imagine feeling any sort of accomplishment or satisfaction in manipulating or maneuvering a situation in order to create a false connection,…

You gagged me at “sphagnum moss”.

My great aunt became the mother superior of a convent. She lived in an unheated room in the attic, slept on a cot, shared a bathroom that had a tub and no shower (no heat) and helped tend to the sick and the poor in the nearby nursing/old folks’ home and hospital. Her window overlooked the cemetery. I believe she fled…

YES. I was asked to return to my FT job after 3 months, but the company folded right after I had the baby. So I was struggling to find other work I could do at home - not surprisingly it was a lower salary, so no nannies for us. It was nearly impossible. Needy, lively, hungry baby. Tired, worn-out mama with mommy…

Hollablake

I hate to break it everybody, but this is exactly how language evolves. If you study the etymology of a specific word, you often find that many factors shaped it: physical (such as using acronyms or shortening a word b/c it saved time and energy or space), trend (sometimes due to a famous person or leader using a word…

So many places make taking lunch a nightmare.

wow. Amazed you made it work. More power to you, hope all is well.

You sound like you need support right now, and typical of giving women you’re offering help. That’s awesome, but I want to offer you this: even though you love your abuser (many of us have loved our abusers - initially, and even after realization) you MUST practice self-care and self-preservation. You don’t have to…

Please let me know which SSRIs you recommend. It’s an overwhelming market.

Please keep writing about your experience. You are nailing it, and a great example of the oxymoron of an abused woman who does not “play the victim” (more abusive rhetoric) but was an actual victim.

It’s so great that you are independent financially and emotionally. Be as happy and fulfilled as possible on your own as you can be. Always keep your own accounts, stay close with friends and family, and be ready to move out/move on at a moment’s notice. Even when we are prepared to avoid an abusive situation, it can…

Literal triangulation. Unreal.

If that’s for real and not a joke, get out of that relationship.

Great advice to your daughter.

Tell her what these guys are saying and doing. She will appreciate an ally, and maybe will push them out.

Hey - try something new. Put your best face forward and start believing and acting like you are the shizznit. So much of attractiveness is confidence. When he tells you about the attractive women, tell him how attractive he is. Men are really only looking to be admired - we all are. Admire yourself, admire him, and…

You are great. Have lots of kids or work with them (e.g., schools, Boys and Girls club, Girl Scouts, etc.) Keep being awesome and pass this along everywhere.

I wonder if it’s an internal thing, too. Like, not all the popular beauties in life were/are perfect. Jayne Mansfield and Jane Russell were bigger women; Keira Knightley and Selma Blair and Elizabeth Banks are all flat-chested; Sophia Loren and Catherine Deneuve are still considered ageless beauties. It seems that how…

Maybe it’s because we are so black and white in society and in our thinking. Fat, ugly, old(unacceptable) thin, pretty, young (enviable).