Interesting discussion, and you handled the situation better than I would have at 19! I've been thinking recently about Margaret Atwood's book The Robber Bride, in which three woman reminisce about a fourth who was kinda their friend but not really because she also stole or tried to steal their boyfriends/husbands. I…

Yeah, it's similar to the feeling one gets when seemingly everyone else was invited to something you weren't made a part of. At least in my case I could understand my friend's decision. I imagine it must be worse to think of oneself as being part of this circle of friends until one finds out otherwise.

Ha ha, that's totally me, if I ever found myself on a barren patch of dirt. I deleted my Facebook account this year so hopefully there won't be too many of those awkward moments to navigate.

My boss did something similar—City Hall wedding with family and close friends, followed by reception with those people, followed by party at bar downstairs in the same restaurant, I think, that everyone else was invited to go to.

Yes, definitely. Thanks for sharing your experience. I hope your wedding did make you feel closer to your family. If I ever get married, I'm inclined to do something super simple with just my immediate family so there are no bad feelings among the other people in my life.

Is it true that couples feel compelled to invite people who had invited them to their own wedding? For some reason, that made me feel a little bit better about not being invited to the wedding of a person whom I thought I was closer to than that other person who was invited. It's not a big deal in the overall scheme…

So sorry about your mom. I fear the time when I will have to see my parents go through such suffering. Best wishes to your family.

Exactly! And if you don't respond the way they want you to, they get offended and scold you for being "rude." It has nothing to do with these men being nice and all to do with their trying to be dominant. And by their logic, that we should be gratified that we receive these compliments because we'll miss them when…

I was reminded of Conan and Andy's staring contests. This video is from 1997 (!). Does Conan still do this on the latest incarnation of his show? Anyway, having a staring contest is not the same as a zoning out, but I'm certain if I tried to zone out competitively that I'd immediately see something that'd get my heart…

I'm waiting for someone to post that History channel interviewee "Aliens" gif.

So true. It's awful that your MIL feels as if she has to stay in an abusive relationship for the sake of her children but also because she sees no reasonable options. Good for you that you're willing to offer a refuge.

I bet he's also the kind of person who swears being a dad is the most fulfilling thing in the world and looks down on people who choose not to have children.

I don't think I'll ever be able to come across that name without thinking of Tom Hanks tearfully screaming "Willllsonnnn!"

That's nice of you. I used to foster kittens for a local rescue, and I never named them. I'd just refer to them as "cat" while they stayed with me. I figured whoever adopted them could have the honor of naming them.

The rat rescue group from whom I adopted my rat names their animals by theme. The rat I adopted was named Jonagold; his brothers were Cortland, Braeburn, Fuji, Spartan, and they were the Apple of My Eye litter.

Thanks for sharing the link! That was really interesting and a much more thoughtful read than I've done of that section. I am sort of glad that in the show, she's seen as running to the stones almost out of desperation. When I read the scene in the book, I kind of thought she was an idiot for ending up in BJR's hands…

Ah, OK. The other commenter seemed to imply that the sex-after-whipping scene was rape or possible rape.

*SPOILERS* for those who haven't read the first two books. Kinja really needs to add a spoiler tag.

Yes, the sex specifically. I mean, I could see Gabaldon saying oh, it was a different time for that as well. But I wonder if she meant it as rape or if the scene is just not written well.

I'd be curious to know what Gabaldon has said or written about this. I think I know what scene you're talking about, and I'm not sure I'd say it was rape. At the same time, I wish Gabaldon had just thrown in another sentence or two to clarify what the hell was going on.