Two things:

I'm so sorry your family has been having to struggle with this. Please know that the kids are lucky for one very important thing: that you and your family clearly love and care for them very much. I hope that you and they have the support that you need, and I hope you're able to reach out if you think that you…

Yes. This. So much this.

That's really good to hear - you'll be starting off with a distinct advantage over many. I've always had a tendency to throw myself into work, especially when it's work I'm very passionate about, and that was how I had planned to go into this degree because I was so excited and focused on what I wanted to do with it.…

That's wonderful, and I'm glad you enjoy and are good at what you do. I truly enjoy what I do as well, and was only trying to be helpful in pointing out some of the things I wish someone had pointed out to me when I began my doctoral studies. I entered into my program thinking more about being a psychologist, and…

As someone who is almost finished with her clinical psychology doctorate - good luck to you! I'd encourage you to note the comment about compassion fatigue elsewhere on this page because that does happen when you spend your whole days diving deeply into others' struggles. It is absolutely mentally stimulating and it…

Yup.

Okay. That's good to know. I work with kids with developmental delays and terrified parents ask me about vaccines all the time, in hushed tones, so I think I assume that most people only talk about it in hushed tones, given that I don't have kids of my own and don't really have occasion to talk about it in non-work…

Okay, so I have to ask this. As someone who hopes to have kids in the next few years, how do you broach the topic with your friends to find out whether they've vaccinated their kids before you let them hang out with your kids? We're not planning on having kids quite yet but my husband and I have agreed already that…

Agree - I've actually received a couple of bouquets from them and they've been beautiful, though they weren't around Valentine's Day. I've sent bouquets through them, too, and always heard they were gorgeous and arrived in great shape. I sent a bouquet via ProFlowers to my best friend who lives in another state…

Aw, thanks for saying so! And that's really good to know. I'm glad that it's provided so much support for you and that your experiences there have been such positive ones.

Definitely. Just was worried about the overwhelm factor that can come sometimes when surplus of information collides with super raw emotions - I'm not familiar with that particular message board and didn't know how well it was moderated, but sometimes the overwhelm can increase exponentially if people don't know what…

Just wanted to echo what everyone else has said. This breaks my heart that you are having to go through this and I am so sorry you are hurting. The hurt will stop hurting so badly with time, as it becomes clearer and clearer that he allowed you to no longer have to deal with a jackass who took you for granted, took…

Just gonna jump in here and say that finding a good therapist to help with coping with what happened can work wonders - in trying to understand his 180, etc., whether it's a personality disorder or any other issue he might be dealing with, if trying to understand what happened ends up feeling therapeutic - but right…

Thank you for saying this. As someone who has felt the same way Ithinkilostit felt at hearing that statement, thank you for your comment. I certainly don't think my friends have ever actually meant to diminish me or my experience by making that comment that they finally understand love when they've had children, but…

This. So much this.

UGH. Apologies for taking a while to reply. This stuff makes me so upset (esp as someone who works a lot with kids with ASD and other developmental disabilities). Sigh. People need to put the judgment away and remember that we can never fully know what goes on in everyone else's lives, homes, etc., and that for…

Yeesh, apologies for the rant. Guess it hit the nerve harder than I'd realized :-/

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