I really relate to the second letter writer. I have been in therapy for yearsss, with several different therapists, and it is daunting and frustrating to try to find a new one. I have gotten the best results by being very upfront about my needs (are they going to blame my depression/anxiety on my being polyamorous,…

What you have said IS helpful to the conversation.

RECEPTACLE.

I keep watching this and expecting that candle to light the place on fire...

I think that eight-year-old me would have been all about this. Young me really enjoyed several “Ernest” movies as well as 1980s My Little Pony movies. My mom went with me to see all that crap. She was a saint.

Actually, no! He was a run-of-the-mill Angry White Guy.

I used to live in Minneapolis. In the twelve years I lived there, I encountered one cab driver who was mad that “they” were building new apartments for “our Somali friends” - but that conversation sticks out to me because more people were accepting.

Yes, I have always known drunk men in groups to be nothing but kind, perfect gentlemen. *nods sagely*

I am glad to hear this. I was a long-time Girl Scout (Gold Award recipient!) and volunteered for several years until grad school got me too busy. As something of an outsider now, it seemed like their programs were headed much more towards, like, journalling, and away from outdoors skills. The outdoors stuff is why I…

The grossest thing I have ever seen in a SEPTA station is a hipster guy walking around barefoot. (I mean, I’ve smelled worse things, but this is the grossest thing having to do immediately with a person’s body. Somehow the barefoot grossed me out more than people peeing.)

Can confirm, was a camp counselor. Campers who were afraid to poop in latrines pooped in showers or swimming pool.

I’m somewhat younger than you (36) but I agree. Pedro was on “The Real World” and TLC sang about condom use when I was in junior high. I am fascinated that Kids Today aren’t as worried as we were. 

Ugh, the use of “clean” makes me crazy! Food is not “dirty” unless there’s actual dirt in it.

Same! And I can’t even be like “oh, one cookie won’t kill you,” because I’m fat, and obvs I must be a food-pusher wanting to make everyone FAT LIKE ME. I hate this crap.

I want to star this twice. It is so hard for me to be sane about food when I’m surrounded by coworkers who go on about how baddddd they’re being when they eat a brownie, or how virtuous they are if they don’t. IT’S JUST FOOD.

Same here. There’s a lot I dislike about my Catholic upbringing, but I would have been exposed to more/different nonsense if I had been raised Evangelical.

This week marks five years since my BFF died of ovarian cancer. Shit like this gives me rage.

I can see how doing a gender reveal for a sibling would be cute. But for your grown-up, non-relative friends... it just seems self-indulgent IMHO. I don’t think anyone cares about the gender (actually, “sex”) of the baby as much as the parents.

I’m so sorry about your daughter. I had to make a similar decision for my mom, and it was the hardest choice I’ve ever had to make - so I can’t imagine doing it for a child! Like you, I have no regrets, and people who don’t understand... well, they don’t understand.

I am sorry about what’s going on with your dad, and I hear you.