To Dr. Grossman:
Thank you for maintaining this message board. I also very much appreciate your excellent essays. Their warm, sympathetic emotional tone reminds me of the work of Alice Miller. They contain a sense of simplicity and mercy. I felt supported and hopeful just through reading them.
To CB123:
I hadnt anticipated that they wouldnt be through grieving and that the day would be very difficult for them.
But it sounds like you saw, acknowledged and supported their feelings, which means you broke the dysfunctional pattern. Bravo!
To Gaining Strength:
I grieved for the way "family" should be ...
But you have a vision of something better and you are working to create that. Bravo!
To All:
Thanks for being supportive when I described my financial/emotional struggles with the holiday. It went pretty well with my mom, she fixed a nice meal and we played Scrabble afterward. (There was no church supper after all.) My brother unexpectedly sent me a $100 gift certificate for the health food store, so today I stocked up on fancy, good-quality groceries. And my mom gave me a $50 gift certificate to the local discount outlet, so I can get new gloves, socks, hat, etc. or possibly waterproof boots. Also, tomorrow I have a few hours of freelance clerical work which may earn me the remainder of this month's rent. I have next month's check for the full amount of rent, ready to hand over on Jan. 3.
Hanging in there!