You’re totally normal. Even though I’m generally extroverted, I enjoy doing things by myself all the time (although I am choosing to do things around other people, just by myself, if that makes sense? I.e. art fairs/concerts/festivals etc.) This evolved for similar reasons to you (friends weren’t available, the ones…

Oh God, NO ONE should compromise with Trump. He is our country’s greatest shame, and does not deserve to be coddled or humored. Reject everything from him! (Unless it’s miraculously good because it really came from a rational person that was not him.)

First off - love your user name. LOVE it. I totally get where you’re coming from. Here are things to think about:

I like it when people are allowed to retire when they want to retire. I do know several musicians for whom music is their life and their joy and it doesn’t feel like work for them, and the road has a certain charm for them, so I don’t feel like those people need to retire. Just those that want to. (All of us. I’d sure…

I don’t know the content of your conversations, or if you guys screamed expletives at each other or called each other names, so all I can say is that your needs are totally understandable and not-bitchy. None of us can accurately weigh in on your delivery of the explanation for those needs, because we weren’t there.…

Way to go and congratulations! It just so happens that I was researching exercise bikes earlier today and found some really good affordable ones on Amazon! Here’s a highly rated affordable, high-weight capacity upright for $189:

Yep, definitely a trained Pavlovian response to survival. He “can’t” speak up to his dad because he is also being abused by his dad. (I put can’t in quotes because of course he is physically capable of making words come out of his mouth, but his dad has been in his life since he was born, so he’s incredibly…

I have been reading all 10 years but am extremely late to the celebration birthday party. I remember back in the day (insert old woman voice) when there was a pinup avatar for the site and it was so brave and said EXACTLY what I already thought on many different issues. Grateful to have found it, glad it’s still here.…

I agree! I’m greyed here, but I have another burner on a laptop that died (and I never saved the key of course :( ) where I was ungreyed. So I had to start over and ungreying seems challenging now. My individual comments get ungreyed (if they’re read), but overall, my username has not been on this laptop (where I…

YES to this. My husband had an incredibly rough childhood, but took it in stride. Only after we were married did he have a nervous breakdown (the nervous breakdown he deserved to have in reaction to such a horrible childhood.) His PTSD therapist said (and I suspected) that he finally felt completely loved and safe…

Many days later but this comment deserves so many kudos! So I’m giving it now!

Oh my goodness I am so so so very sorry about the loss of your dad. Even though he was dealing with health issues for a long time, it still feels sudden when someone isn’t in a hospital or on hospice etc.

Same. I’ve tried branching out, but am met with such stupidity and rage from people who will not do even one bit of fact checking, and I come right back here.

I feel strongly that she has some kind of mystical super powers, because even when I hear a song and think, “blah” I somehow find myself singing it later and then listening to it voluntarily eventually. I didn’t like gorgeous at all, and now I’m like, “you’re so gorgeous.” It’s Swiftamine.

I’ve got a theory that Gorgeous is actually a song about what some guy was saying to her (that she was so gorgeous that she enraged him.) And her part in the song is only her reply about having a boyfriend older than both of them etc. (Many woman are only taken seriously for their no if they attach a man to the reason…

You are making me laugh continuously in these comments. lol You made swinging from trees sound so favorable, that now I want that too. Anyhow, multiple stars for multiple comments.

riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight??????????

I’m so sorry about your experience. You are/were totally worth all the attention and focus in the world, especially when you were going through something so harrowing. I hope that you are surrounded by other people who support you so much better than your family in that instance.

Such good points, and also, if John was laughing this off, it’s because he was taught to laugh it off. He was very likely taught that his needs were not acceptable and that his insights about behavior were not rational. (Abusive parents often convince their kids that bad behavior isn’t as bad as they think it is. “you…

I can totally relate to this from the other viewpoint. When I was dating my husband, he was telling me about how wonderful his parents were. I was genuinely excited to meet his father when he came through town (his parents live out of state). But when I met his dad, it was awful. He was the most insufferable person,…