Happy Spring and spring holidays to everyone observing. The kids are on Spring Break for 10 days starting today, and we’re heading to Missouri on Sunday to visit my folks. Yesterday it got up to 81 degrees here in NYC, and it’s been so nice to shed and shake off the last lingering winter doldrums.

You may have heard about the subway shooting in Brooklyn on Tuesday. It happened about three miles from us, on one of our regular subway lines, at a station we occasionally pass through. Fortunately, we weren’t affected beyond feeling a little shaken up. I hope anyone who was more directly affected is feeling ok and getting whatever support might help.

I’ve been enjoying my break from writing after the long writer’s block I’ve experienced since around the start of the pandemic, and I started a new project to get my creative juices flowing. I’m creating little patterns and prints – one a day for 100 days. You can follow along on my Instagram, where I’ll be posting favorites every ten days or so.

Anyway, just wanted to say “hi” and hope everyone’s doing well. Are you doing anything to celebrate the spring holidays or anything special over the next few weeks?

Here’s what we’re discussing this week in the forums:

Made a major mistake, need relationship advice

How to heal and continue with the love of my life?

“Dating a Widower”

I didnt get anything for my birthday

First time drinking, not sure how to proceed

Covid Support Thread

Anyone going on awesome dates?

I’m reading a new book, “The Invisible Kingdom,” published just a few weeks ago and included on a list I saw recently of the “best books of 2022 so far.” I saw that it was about chronic illness, including long Covid, and put it on my holds list at the library. For many months – well, nearly two years – I’ve been experiencing a host of new symptoms, or exacerbations of pre-exisiting symptoms, that might be related to long Covid, or maybe to perimenopause, or which could be the result of flare-ups from my multiple autoimmune disorders (and maybe additional ones that haven’t yet been diagnosed) or perhaps just the chronic, low-grade stress of living and parenting through a pandemic.
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Here’s what we’re discussing this week in the forums:

Contacted an ex online after 13 years, need advice

Covid Support Thread