I’m sorry about your mom. That right there is one of my greatest fears.

Sounds like spending the holidays with my parents

I can attest to that. After being single I moved in with and married a guy in my early 30s that I should not have at all. I settled. 10 years of mostly deep unhappiness, tension and resentment until we finally realized we were so wrong for each other. We had a had a house, but luckily no kids. I vividly recall the…

Which dreamland do you live in? If you live long enough to become unable to take care of yourself, everyone ends up in a home. Having had a spouses, several spouses, a single child or a dozen or two of them makes no difference whatsoever.

It’s not the same thing in that it actually is a definite problem, but your piece reminds me of the way people react when I say that I’m sick* and I won’t be getting better for the foreseeable future – maybe never. Giving up on living a normal life was the greatest relief I’ve ever experienced, and as my family and I…

And yet those same fates happen just as often to people who are married and have children. I think it would be a lot worse to be sitting there alone in the nursing home knowing your immediate family doesn’t care about you.

I get the stigma things, but part of not buying into society’s prescriptions for success is being okay with the decision to step outside of them for your own happiness. I hope anyone who feels that stigma can realize how empowering it is once that natural human inclination to peer pressure dies down.

What a selfish interpretation. She bemoans not being able to.freepy express her singleness and her anxiety without the immediate (and sometimes more than immediate) jumping in of others. I think her point about being cut off before she can even get her thoughts out after /being asked a question/ she _wasn’t allowed to…

Love comes in so many forms. The idea that one needs to be in a sexual relationship within the bonds of marriage aimed at procreation in order to experience love is something I reject as well.

I have to believe that anyone dating Leo knows what to expect.

I have a friend of 17 years who is 53 now. It is only in the last couple of years that she seemed to feel comfortable with not pretending that she was looking for someone. As you say, she has made a life in the company of friends, family, pets and herself.

Well, the thing is, you aren’t alone. In this particular pain, you have a shared experience with countless others (myself included).

I’ve grown up with several women who weren’t married and they weren’t looked down on. In some cases they were admired because they had freedom other women didn’t. It’s not bad to be alone.

Over 60 years old here… relationships have come and gone, but at least I can say I’ve escaped the legal and financial consequences of marriage.

Yeah. I hear ya. I’ve got an extreme aversion to physical contact, so that makes dating more or less impossible. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll never be more than friends with people because of it. I’m a loner anyway, so it doesn’t really bug me (honestly, I love coming home to a quiet and empty house),…

What is it with other people being so goddamn shitty about other people lives and their lifestyle choices? These are the same people who can’t imagine a married couple being childless by choice. Not everyone wants the same things in life but that doesn’t mean their lives are without content.

Cannot unsee Jack Nicholson.

I get the family drama thing i’ve got it too I can’t really comment on the friends not inviting you front as I have none but kittens are wonderful and I love playing with them.

Talking about politics this holiday season is more rude than discussing your digestion.

Get in here my fellow grinches and anyone who is alone on Christmas Eve lets all be angry and lonely together!