Dear So and So

[malkin]

((Oak)) It's powerful to see what you see and know what you know and then go ahead and feel what you feel.


((Scrappy)) Hang in there sweetie. I never believed it when I was younger, but my 40s and 50s (so far) just keep getting better and better.

[Crankin]

I am sorry you have to go through this, Oak. Most people just don't get it on this particular topic. And most people don't do or say anything, either. My own MIL told me my DH must "have a psychological problem" because of the stuff he told me about his childhood. OK, and you watched your husband abuse 4 kids...
One thing I know for sure, is that kids don't lie about this stuff and from my perspective in the field, abuse/neglect of any kind is the root of about 75% of all mental health issues.

[indysteel]

((((Oak)))). How awful. I so feel for you and your sister. We have a white elephant of child abuse in my own family. I'm sorry you've had to endure this.

[Catrin]

Oakleaf, I am so sorry that you were faced with this. As Indy put it so well, my family also has that same white elephant (part of the reason I am so far from my family and rarely go home)...continuing to send many hugs and warm thoughts your way during this very hard time.

[Crankin]

Yes, and this was part of the reason we moved 2800 miles away from DH's family.
And some people think we were cold about the fact that my FIL died a horrible death from Lewy Body Disease.

[Pax]

((((Oak)))) Thinking of you.

[redrhodie]

(((Oak))) it always amazes me when someone so good comes from such a bad place.

[Owlie]

(((Oak)))

ETA:
Dear friend's dad:

Using your daughter's single complaint/observation about her pet(s) as an excuse to rehome them within two days is not cool. I think you're just showing your own dislike for her animals and using her comment to justify it, dressing it up as helping her. You did this first with the parrot she raised from a chick, and not six months later with her cat. I'm surprised that you haven't yet found an excuse to get rid of the other parrot. She very much benefits from the animal companionship--it helps with the depression you refuse to recognize.

Grr.

[OakLeaf]

Thanks all. Hugs were definitely welcome this weekend, and (maybe unsurprisingly) it will be very rough for a few weeks while I sort out some more unexpected and very ugly stuff...


Dear Owlie's friend - hugs. Dear Owlie's friend's dad - do not mistreat your daughter right now because I am in the mood to come there myself and punch you hard.

[Catrin]

Thanks all. Hugs were definitely welcome this weekend, and (maybe unsurprisingly) it will be very rough for a few weeks while I sort out some more unexpected and very ugly stuff...


Dear Owlie's friend - hugs. Dear Owlie's friend's dad - do not mistreat your daughter right now because I am in the mood to come there myself and punch you hard.

This makes both of us - and sending hugs to Owlies friend.

[alexis_the_tiny]

Oh dear, BIG HUGS to everyone having a hard time now.

[skhill]

Dear local traffic engineers and planners

Sometimes I wonder if you're trying to kill cyclists. There are bike lanes that continue across an intersection, yet run to the right of right turn only lanes. There's Main St., with 4 lanes of one-way traffic that often goes 50 mph (instead of the posted 35), and a bike lane completely in the door zone of very busy on-street parking. And now you've started putting in sharrows, with no effort made to educate the public as to what these weird markings mean. WTF?

Of course, it's not just cyclists. You also have it in for pedestrians...

And people wonder why this city was singled out for being the most sedentary in America.

[emily_in_nc]

And people wonder why this city was singled out for being the most sedentary in America.

What city, skhill?

[skhill]

Lexington, KY. Last year Men's Health ranked us as the most sedentary city. Though a lot of the medical stats they looked at were affected by the folks from rural Kentucky who use the hospitals here.

[indysteel]

Interesting. DH and I were in Lexington fairly recently (he's from KY originally) and I commented on how dangerous some of the downtown bike lanes seemed. Of course, I say the same thing about the bike lanes in Indy. I'd rather just ride in a regular lane.