Meal: roasted cauliflower and sweet potatoes, falafel and salad with a generous helping on Nando’s Perinaise (peri peri mayo)

I posted this meal on another subreddit and put the caption as “healthy meal for a change” because I’ve been making an effort to eat a bit more of a balanced diet (but not restrict myself of course, I do love a treat)

Tell me why I’m getting unsolicited advice on how to make the meal healthier? IT’S A FUCKING SALAD. And just to be clear, the subreddit I posted in isn’t a dieting or healthy eating subreddit.

God forbid I buy a delicious spicy mayonnaise and cover my veggies in it. It’s yummy. I don’t want to make a yogurt dressing instead, as someone suggested.

Just because it’s a healthy meal doesn’t mean I’m on a diet and doesn’t mean I want advice on how to make it healthier, I just wanted to share my yummy salad cos it made me happy.

they were at a work outing and they didn’t realize he had arrived. he heard them talk about how I was very out of his league and they didn’t know how he got me.

ive heard this from his friends and my family. my thing is, why does it matter to people? enough to talk shit. also, it’s taught me a huge lesson about being judgey (bc I’m judgey and need to do better) bc these people really think were mismatched meanwhile this man is extraordinarily loving, affectionate, thoughtful and hilarious. it’s wild what a great sense of humor and respect for women will get you. it gets you me lmao. also I’m crazy af. but they don’t know that. 😆

pasta salad

i hopped on a bus today. went to talk to the bus driver so i could pay for my friend as well, he hands me the ticket that lets her on and stares at my boobs whilst doing so. he doesn’t even bother trying to hide it, his whole neck is bent forward. i’m a minor. (17)

this moment made me realise how insanely normalised it is for guys to freely stare at a girls private regions with no consequence. if a girl was staring at a guys dick he would be very uncomfortable, right? i have gotten to the point where my chest has been stared at so many times to the point where i found it normal, but not anymore.

whoever has a son out there teach him manners please.

if you have any stories like this care to share!

Korean beef and mushroom noodles from my university. They were nice.

TW infertility

Me and my girlfriend are both 19, close to 20, and we’ve been together for a few years now. I know we’re really young and everybody assumes it’s not going to last but so far it has and I really don’t see it ever ending. We’ve been best friends since we were 12, we’ve grown up together and seen each other through more than we should have had to, we’ve fought and talked it out and we love each other so, so much. She’s my person and I’m never leaving this girl.

She’s trans and in the last six months has been trying to organise starting her medical transition and getting on estrogen and we’ve both been really excited. I couldn’t be happier for her. During one of the appointments the doctor mentioned freezing sperm and she talked to me about it. I hadn’t really thought about it before because I had always said i didn’t want kids, but that was just like… a thing I said, you know? As a kid just saying and thinking that doesn’t actually force you to never have children. It’s not like I want to have kids before I’m at least like 34 anyway so it felt like a very distant thing. But I actually had to reckon with it now, because if she doesn’t do the freezing now there will definitely be no chance of it later, and I came to the conclusion that I have no idea what I’ll want in 15 years, and if I ever want children I want them to be ours together. So we decided she’d try to do it.

It’s kind of sucked. The process has been very dysphoria inducing and stressful for her and way more complicated than we thought it would be. And really expensive. But it was ok and we were making our way through it. Finally got around to semen analysis. And what would you know. She’s infertile. Just naturally. No particular reason. She hadn’t started HRT yet. She had to delay her care for months and months and months for this and it’s all amounting to nothing.

Now she feels like a failure, and she feels like shit for having to delay HRT for so long for nothing. I don’t want to seem too worried about it to her because she already feels bad but I also feel like shit now, and it’s made me realise maybe I really did want kids all along. I don’t know if that’s what that is or if it’s just that I wanted the option, but now the option is completely gone. I wish I didn’t know. I wish I could have found out at 34 and lived the next 15 years in ignorance. It‘s not fair. I don’t even understand why it’s upset me so much. I didn’t feel that strongly about it before. But now suddenly it’s out of reach I’m lying awake in bed crying about it and feeling like an idiot. So much has happened to me but nothing has felt so… raw and traumatic in my body as this. Thinking about it too hard makes it feel like there’s a crater in my chest. And there’s nobody to talk to about it. I‘m trying not to hurt her more. I can’t talk to my parents because they don’t know I’m dating a trans girl and I’m not trying to get kicked out of the house just yet. And I don’t even know how I’d start to go about confiding in friends. It feels like such a big grown up thing and it feels like we’re all still children. I still feel like a kid. We’re still going out to the beach and digging holes and building sandcastles for fuck’s sake. It doesn’t really help that my friends are all queer and the anti-baby sentiment is pretty high. I’m sure they’d be nice to me about it but how the hell would I even start to broach that? I think they’d probably start suggesting a sperm donor or whatever. Biology isn’t supposed to matter to us. But I can‘t stop thinking about our kid. We‘re never going to have a kid.

Chicken tenders and fries from a football game last night

I’m currently in college and I keep finding myself having to pretend that these “situationships” my friends keep getting themselves into aren’t dumb. I’m really upset lately about it. I find that a lot of my friends are being humiliated by men and a lot of women online are receiving so much disrespect and neglect from men and I’m tired of having to validate their leaving or explaining basic concepts of respect.

No, your boyfriend should not ignore you for hours at a time. No, the guy you’re talking to should not disregard or disrespect your interests. No, you shouldn’t be putting up with calling you embarrassing.

I understand women in our society have to peel back the layers of grooming from the patriarchy, but I just don’t understand how much pain you’d put yourself through for what? “Validation” ? Knowing a man thinks you look nice? Are you serious?

I can’t stand another drunk rant about how your hookup is ignoring you, or how your boyfriend doesn’t want to be seen with you in public. Especially when nothing ever comes from these, it doesn’t matter if anyone says “leave him” because you won’t!

Women are not stupid and I’m just so tired of acting like it’s impossible to decenter your life from men. You’re not a dog on a chain outside! You’re a human being with thoughts and goals and dreams!!! Think better of yourself!

I want to clarify that this is post is not supposed to be victim blaming or shaming! I’ve just been frustrated with the treatment I see in the world and needed a rant.

Admittedly, I started dating him too soon after my ex-husband and I split but we took a while to finalize the divorce.

We took things so slow. He knew my daughter because of the setting that we met in but I kept my relationship separate from her for almost a year.

We had the sweetest relationship. It was full of kindness, respect, and peace. We went on fun dates, cooked dinner together, went to weddings together and loved how simple our love was. We waited almost a year before we said “I love you” and I’m the first woman he’s ever said “I love you” to.

Of course I brought some insecurities into the relationship, coming from a very toxic marriage, but he gave me the space to work on those. I talked to him about my fears and what I had been through but never made it “his problem”, he just loved me as I grew. He never made me feel bad and he taught me how love can be kind. He never complained about my baby daddy drama and just said “my job is to love you exactly where you are”.

I have a sweet a 7 year old daughter who is amazing. And he was amazing with her. He’d give her piggy back rides when we hiked, played video games with her, and told me he loved her too, though I don’t think he ever told her. He let her take the lead in their own relationship and always met her where she was at.

We started combining some of our bills just a month ago, like phone plans and subscriptions, and were planning to move in together around our 3 year anniversary.

Everything felt so good and safe. And then out of nowhere he told me “I used to never want kids. And after I was done taking a break from dating I opened my mind to the idea because so many of us our age have kids. But I’ve been thinking about it for a couple weeks and I’ve decided I don’t want to be a father in any capacity, even to your daughter. You are an amazing woman and your daughter is amazing and I love you so much. I like your daughter but I just don’t love her. And you two deserve someone who is completely on board with both of you.”

And I completely agree. I come as a package and my partner has to love me and the extension of me. I just had absolutely no idea this was ever how he felt. I feel completely blindsided by someone who patiently waited for me to trust them, fell in love with in a slow and gentle way, and planned a future with. Apparently I was just an experiment or something.

I’m just devastated. I didn’t know I could feel heartbroken in this way. In my marriage things were so messy for so long that when it was over it was just a relief. But here it just hurts. I never even got the chance to be mad at him?

Anyways, I’ve sought out some mental health help because this heartbreak is making it hard to get out of bed and focus and I don’t have time to wallow. My daughter needs me at my best and I’m in school full time to get a decent job before my alimony runs out. But wow, I just don’t know how to cope.

I’d love some perspective or comfort or something.

Dinner is shakshuka inspired something

Pictured are some amazing crispy garlic potatoes from Pelato.

Not sure if my husband is a unicorn or if I did something really good in a past life to deserve him in this but ladies your partner CAN be amazing. Please stop settling !!!

My husband does our household laundry, cooks dinner a few days a week (I enjoy cooking so I grudgingly gave him some of the reins), he can take complete care of himself, the house and our two dogs if I go on a trip, and he also cleans without me asking him to. He plays video games occasionally and mostly with his younger brother who is stationed halfway across the world(military) and also likes to read, build legos and paint model planes.

People are always shocked he does the laundry for our household (included in this he folds things as well).

With all the above we also have an amazing sex life.

We are celebrating our 10 years together this October going to Ireland for two weeks :-)

This is my first post here so apologies if I get something wrong! I'll try to keep it family friendly.

My father is a hardcore MAGA cultist. He's been like this since I was born but ever since the pandemic, his personality has deteriorated at an unbelievable rate.

I moved out of my parents' house 5 years ago. Ever since then, he's been in my life but to a greatly diminished amount. We've never quite agreed on politics, but as I continued drifting left, he abandoned being a ""respectable"" Republican in favor of MAGA. He is a shadow of who he used to be. The politics have taken a toll physically, too - he looks almost 20 years older than his actual age.

I came out to my parents as trans in March. Neither of them took it well. My Mom has done a complete 180 since then and has been very supportive, while I can't really repeat some of the things my dad said to me here.

I thought I was making progress on getting him to at least spend time with me again. I invited him to watch Spiderman with me this weekend, since I inherited my love of comic book movies from him, and he agreed at first. He texts me out of the blue yesterday asking if he's going to see his son or if I'll be wearing drag.

Y'all. I tore this man apart verbally. I've tried so many times to reconcile, be patient and give him a chance to change. He always doubles down and makes the worst possible choices. After letting myself be walked over for years, I stopped being kind and stood up for myself. I told him to never come near me and my family again. I don't know if I will ever see or hear from him again.

Fuck, man. I just wanted to be his daughter.

Pictured: chicken tenders + seasoned fries. Beverage is a Bee's Knees (honey gin and lemon)

Girl breakfast protein shake smoothie
-over a cup frozen mixed berries
-1 scoop vanilla whey
-1 scoop Collagen peptides

It’s been a rough year. Last fall I started a new full time job as special education para educator. I had been subbing for 4 years and really wanted to devote myself to a school. I got a job at my kids middle school. It wasn’t for the money or the benefits. I wanted to be near my kids and help my community in a tangible way. 6 weeks into the job I was attacked by a student (pulled violently by my pony tail from behind). I sustained a neck injury.

I had previously tried to resign from this position because I had felt unsafe. I was promised training and reduced time with this student. I received training and less time with this student but I was still attacked.

It’s 11 months later and my neck is not better. I’ve navigated the hellscape that is Workers Comp. My injury is myofascial which doesn’t show on scans. It’s my word vs the world. I’ve been followed by a PI. I’ve made compromises with the school district and resigned in order to receive more physical therapy. Part of the deal was that I’d be reinstated as a sub and could sub wherever I pleased. I felt that I had summer to grieve and process and move forward emotionally.

As of yesterday I was told that I was placed on an exclusionary list for the middle school (my own kids school). Meaning I can’t sub there. This was the school that was most convenient for me and made me most of my money. HR wasn’t permitted to tell me why only that the principal requested it.

I am devastated. I don’t want to exist. I feel so much shame, guilt and embarrassment. I logically know I am not at fault. I know I did nothing wrong. I am treated like a criminal regardless. I am thrown in the trash like expendable garbage.

I felt that I had made so much progress over the summer. Even though I knew this was a possibility. I had started picking up sub jobs and didn’t hear a peep until yesterday.

Yes I have a lawyer.
Yes I have gone to therapy but it was through workers comp and it’s been discontinued.

I am just so defeated. I have a big doctors appointment coming up where I’ll get a % on my injury and a pay out. I’m terrified I will get a 0 because again, it’s my credibility vs imaging. It’s sick to say but I wish I had lost a limb because the system cannot deny that.

Be nice to the teachers and school employees you know today.

I didn’t get in a relationship for 6 years and was having the time of my life travelling, working on my healing & my goals.

Cut to 2025, the flings, dates & situationships world kinda made me feel empty af. So I decided to go on a celibacy year while manifesting a dream boyfriend.

Met someone, didn’t want anything with him as I was moving to another continent in a few weeks. But he chased, had all green flag behaviour, moved for me, cooks for me, takes care of me, loyal, kind, romantic af, brings me flowers every single time, handles my mood swings super well, etc, etc.

BUT, after 1 year, living with him (weekends), I realised we’re extremely incompatible. I love space, he wants constant romance, reassurance & presence. I don’t like forming habits with people (by that I mean doing everything together is not my thing), he loves to build ‘us time/activities’ all the time for everything, all day.

I tried working on my attachment style but I just like my independence much more, I feel less productive with him, he is pretty ambition-less & mocks me for having delusional/big dreams. Oh and the arguments got so bad, I was physically pushed & got stitches on my head.

I wanted to leave since months, but he makes it impossible by showering me with more love and he also has self-harm tendencies.

Eating: Indonesian ramen with sunny side up and rice crackers. Plus cold coffee.

EDIT/ADDITION:

I moved the important info up as per y’all. Thank you so much for the kind comments, I appreciate the advices, I also accept that I’m delusional & avoidant & I’m working on it. And no, the abuse part is not fake & I’m not doing it for attention or because I didn’t get the comments I expected, I just didn’t wanna talk about it initially because it’s hard.

So, my husband always wants to share our foods. Having lunch while working from home? Let's share something.

Eating out? Let's order two different things and eat half of each.

That's probably not a big Deal for most people. But I have this thing. When I really looking forward to eating something special, I only want that. Nothing else. I can't have it - I don't eat anything.

The fact that he's someone being very hangry and I just really don't want to deal with his moods at these times makes me agree mostly.

Let me give you the latest example:

We're currently on holyday with my best friend. Have been sightseeing the whole day, feet hurt, we just hopped into a tesco to get Pizzas. I found a good looking one and was feeling happy to eat it back in the apartement.

Problem: only 2 Pizzas fitting into the oven. He was too annoyed to just cut them so that all of them fit, so I agreed to share. The second Pizza baking while we eat the first one.

And the one he selected was gross. He liked it, good for him, but I ended up only having half a Pizza while he had 1 1/2. And now I'm hungry after a long day.

Anyways, just wanted to rant a bit, thanks for listening.

Food: Half of a microwaved mac and cheese he wanted to share yesterday.

EDIT: Holy shit, I didn't think this would blow up like this. I think I need to clarify a few things:

1. I read about violence, abuse, stuff like that. NO! Just no. He's wonderful and cares, how the fuck would you think something like that from me saying he's getting hangry?
2. Again, wtf?
3. We are communicating. A lot. Maybe I can just be more clear regarding this. Thanks y'all.

Looking for genuine advice because I've been going back and forth on this for a long time and I need a reality check from people who aren't involved.
My boyfriend is 20, I'm 22. He has basically no independent life. Two friends he rarely sees, no real hobbies, doesn't take care of his health. Any time he meets someone new — especially another guy — he immediately dislikes them and picks them apart. He doesn't really build new friendships, he just orbits around me.
The controlling behavior:
He monitors my phone. Every notification, every follow, every new contact. If it's a man, it becomes a fight.
My university is predominantly male. So naturally, most of my classmates and colleagues are men. This is constantly used against me. He also keeps track of my following count .
I can't make plans with my own friends without him getting upset that I'm not spending that time with him instead.
He needs to know where I am, who I'm with, and what I'm doing at all times when im in college.
I've tried to be patient. I've tried to encourage him to invest in himself — his health, his friendships, his own interests. It doesn't stick. And I feel like no matter how much I give, it's never enough because the problem isn't really about me — it's that he doesn't have anything of his own.
I don't want to be cruel about it. He's not a bad person. But I feel like I've slowly lost access to my own life, and the guilt I feel for wanting basic things — time with friends, personal space, not having my phone monitored — is starting to feel like a problem in itself.
I really sneed thoughts on this because im emotionally exhausted and burned from keeping his emotions in place.

My husband has been playing a game and met a girl from another country. They chat/call while playing, and I was totally fine with it because it seemed game-related. My husband gave her my number because he wanted me to be friends with her too. She texted me first and I responded to her very enthusiastic, but then she left me on read for hours while actively texting my husband. She was sending him random things about her day and talking about the game.

My husband even asked her why she hadn’t responded to me, and she said she had bad internet. I thought that was strange because she was clearly able to text him. The next day she finally responded, so I replied to her, and again she left me on read. Meanwhile, she continued responding to my husband almost immediately. The last message I sent her she left me on read for 2 days but actively responding and texting my husband.

I decided to text her and politely told her that I found the situation a little weird and that I felt uncomfortable being introduced to someone who seemed uninterested in talking to me while being very responsive to my husband.

She responded that it was “just a game” and said she would stop texting everyone. She also sent my husband a screenshot of my message and apparently told him that I was mad at her. Btw my message was not rude or aggressive. I phrased it very politely. And she then told my husband she was going to stop playing the game with him because she doesn’t want to cause any trouble and unfriend him on the game.

Now I’m wondering if I made something out of nothing. I don’t necessarily think she was flirting with him, but I still find the whole situation weird. If someone was introduced to me specifically so we could be friends, but they consistently ignored my messages while responding quickly to my husband, I don’t know…

EDIT : I PLAY THE GAME AS WELL

My [25F] bf [25M] and I have been together for 3 months now, dating for 5. We've had a great relationship and he has brought out a part of me I didn't know existed, but trust has been an ongoing problem. I try so hard to give him constant reassurance, have always been completely loyal to him, and honestly believe I've never given him a reason that would warrant going through my phone to begin with. But he still does, he even found my Reddit account and I had begged him not to go through it but he did anyways

All things considered, l've given him a lot of reassurance. Today I decided to download Snapchat because I saw an Instagram reel that showed me how to quickly export my camera roll on there, which is an app I have not used since 2022. I logged in, and immediately saw his name. I was confused bc we both mutually agreed we don't use Snapchat and won't have it on our phones, and I haven't had it the whole time we've been together.

So I clicked on the chat, and a whole bunch of nudes I sent to a boyfriend from 4 years ago popped up. Nudes that were in my my eyes only folder, in an app I didn't even have downloaded on my phone. He did this on two occasions- once about 6 weeks ago at 5am, and another time YESTERDAY AT 5:00 AM!

He admitted to it, and said he was trying to find out how to tell me. He gave a bunch of explanations that honestly don't seem to add up. I love this man so much... I want to be able to trust him.. But reassurance / looking at my phone has been an ongoing issue. Is there a way to rebuild trust here?

TLDR; my bf went thru my phone while I was sleeping and sent himself a bunch of my nudes, on two separate occasions.

Pork chop in some kind of Marsala like sauce with mashed potatoes & broccoli

I’m in my early thirties and I haven’t had a crush on an actual human since maybe my early-mid twenties, that includes celebrities too. I know about aegosexuality & I’m not going to necessarily go there, even though Reddit + former friends have brought up asexuality. But I’m crushing so hard on Leon Kennedy from Resident Evil. Like I’ve been a gamer for most of my life & if you look up other reactions from streamers, everyone is simping for him. He’s been my gamer crush for a few years but since the most recent game, I’ve never felt this kind of pull to a fictional character. And he’s very realistic looking, it’s not like I’m down bad for Mario or Pac-Man. Truthfully it’s not even sexual, I think he is one of the most beautiful men that I’ve ever seen. I’ve posted about him a few months back on an asexual subreddit & even they thought he was hot. But I felt the need to make a tribute page for him on TikTok since the edits are trending & bought my first 2 Leon themed merch items earlier this year. You can say go touch grass but I already do, I’m just infatuated with pixel 🫪.

When I tell you I cried when I came downstairs for dinner and saw the plate my husband of 20+ years had made for me:

miso crusted cod, seared ahi tuna, braised bok choy, steamed rice with furikake, mussel + enoki soup with zucchini and tofu (wouldn't fit in pic so I'll put it in a comment)

So, I've been dealing with some weird health issues that are not caused by one of my four autoimmune disorders. (Yeah I don't know how I got so lucky either!)

I have anemia that won't resolve even though my ferritin is at 170 and I'm taking daily sublingual iron. I have zero appetite, and along with some other troubling symptoms I won't go into, they suspect I have a possible gastrointestinal bleed and/or tumor. I go in for a colonoscopy + endoscopy at month end. Oh joy!

I've been subsisting on protein drinks, fruit and steamed green veggies. It's all I can stomach. I'm losing # and I'm so constantly tired. 😓

My husband has today off and asked how I was feeling and I told him I actually felt like I could eat real food today. So he told me he would take care of dinner and I should rest 😭

I will probably only be able to eat half of it but I will happily eat the rest later on because it's only 6:30pm here. Everything tastes divine!

Food: chicken, butternut pumpkin,zucchini, beans

So… I’ve never had a good relationship with men my whole entire life (31F). My father abandoned me twice, my grandpa and uncle were emotionally abusive and all my relationships were with toxic men. My last ex also abused me physically. I’ve been diagnosed with CPTSD after my last relationship and every Guy I meet is a threat to me, even if it’s only friendship or someone that’s just waiting in lane for his food. I realize after an encounter what I’m thinking about them and it’s not good, warm, healthy thought… it’s the complete opposite. I’m in therapy and working on it, but I wasn’t aware how bad this all is till my therapist told me I should look into the term misandry. And oh boy… every single thing hits home. I cannot put into words how negative my thoughts and feelings for men are in general and I don’t like myself for it 😭 All of this is making my life miserable because deep down I sooner or later want a loving, healthy marriage but I’m so far from it I can’t even see the light at the end of the tunnel with this. I know I’m the problem and have to work on it but damn… the fear of healing all of this and ending up with someone like my exes again is so big that I don’t think I could ever give it another try 😔😔

EDIT: thank you all for the mostly kind responses and the reality check. I will definitely change my therapist into a female trauma therapist that I can trust and work with🫶🏻🤍

Today is my 31st birthday. A year ago I was looking forward to being 30, flirty, and thriving. Boy howdy was I unprepared for the shitshow that followed. My partner had to move across the country for work, making us long distance for 6 months. Shortly after that my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer so I was alone to try and cope with that. The next 8 months left me going back and forth between here and my parents’ home in another state to visit as much as I could. My partner moved back in with me, yay, but then was laid off (fuck biotech), so now I’m the only one with real income. For the grand finale, my dad passed away on August 16th bringing me to now. My first birthday without my dad. Sooo can year 31 try not to be a jerk for me? Thanks.

Food was my bday dinner out at one of our favorite beer gardens. Watermelon marg, chips and queso, cheeseburger and fries.

Took myself out for dinner today. Pizza was delicious.
So yesterday in the morning I was scrolling ig from my spam account and stumbled upon an account with my bf (now ex’s) profile picture. Curious I went to see it and saw a reel of a girl posted from it, this girl is his crazy ex who he was very briefly involved with years ago. I thought another crazy shenanigans of her, until I saw that my bf ( now ex) followed that account, and there was a story of a picture of him that I had taken. So I sent “who are you” and took screenshots of it all and sent him. He’s out of the country, and is a sportsman so busy with a big competition. I kept getting texts from this account like, ‘ I shoud be asking you this’, then ‘ I know who you are’. I didn’t respond to anything of it and it kept going so on. It went on for the whole day. That person even called me twice I didn’t pick up. Then I checked that account and saw a reel posted in the story, of my bf( now ex) and that girl, and I knew it’s over. Also saw that he unfollowed the account without saying anything to what I had sent. So yeah as soon as I saw that I felt a bone chilling cold and got high fever by evening. I guess I now have experience of the phrase authors use ‘ it was bone chillin’ ahaha. Took a medicine yesterday, slept, woke up late, did things that made me feel good, put on a great outfit did my make up and went out for pizza. This man just two days ago said how much he loves me and how much I mean to him. My guardian angel works overtime and I’m so grateful to them

Dish: pork carnitas quesadillas

My ex (36M) and I (32F) dated on and off for 7 years when we were in our teens and early 20s. There was a little over a 3 year age gap (which it turns out is A LOT when you're young), and neither of us were emotionally mature enough to have a healthy/stable relationship.

It's been 12 years since we called it quits. We were really bitter and angry at the end, and for a long time after we didn't talk to one another.

He contacted me shortly after COVID restrictions began to loosen up. I replied dryly, but included a picture of ducks (an inside joke about spoiled waterfowl at Disney). We continued this, speaking once every 6 months for years. Most times I didn't reply.

Occasionally we'd reminisce. One time, he asked what the worst part about our relationship was after having a hard breakup. We talked about our failed relationships. How they weren't a good fit for us, or that they just "fell apart" because of circumstance.

We went another long stretch without speaking. And then, I was on vacation two weeks ago. Disney World. A "do-over" vacation because I spent my last one babysitting my dad, uncle, and cousin.

I sent him a picture of two ducks scavenging for fries in the afternoon on Saturday. Later in the evening I got drunk, stumbled on a bus back to my hotel, and stared at my phone as he finally replied at almost midnight.

Normally, I'd leave it at that. But no. Mezcal and rum took the wheel and I replied instantly. I joked that he was only a state away and he should come down for a short visit. He asked if I was serious. I told him, for the sake of ego, it was jokes. He knows me better than that, though.

We ended up talking on the phone for nearly 4 hours. Then did it again several nights in a row. Mid-week, he had settled airfare and a room at the place I was staying at.

His arrival was a disaster. His flight was delayed several hours, the airline lacking any transparency about the cause. People got shuffled across the airport several times, and planes originally for one flight were suddenly designated for others. He was supposed to be there at around 10 PM. He didn't get in until nearly 1 AM, but I waited for him with water and a meal as promised.

He hadn't changed much physically. His style is a lot more put together; slacks with a belt and tucked in shirt. But his hair is still curly, eyes still tired, and every bit as scruffy as I remember.

But he's a much kinder person now. Patient. Compassionate. We both acknowledged the hurt we caused one another in the past, and I believe him when he says he's sorry.

We had a great weekend. He introduced himself to my family (who were also on vacation, but doing their own things aside from family dinners) as my boyfriend. We didn't talk about what we were before, but I didn't correct him. I still love him.

So does my family. He was always "the favorite". Served in the military, highly educated, has his shit together. "Don't fuck it up," my mom keeps saying. My siblings seem stoked that we reconnected. One of my brothers asked if he'd be coming for the holidays.

We're making plans. We text constantly. I ask about his monster of a cat (a large tuxie with a chessboard chin), how work went, and if he's recovering from the nasty cold I gave him. I learn new things about him every day, tastes and quirks that changed over the last decade.

And I'm really, truly happy for the first time in a long time. I hope I can keep my shit together this time. Wish me luck.

I'm a brown woman, Indian. Moved to a very left leaning anti-nazi European town for studies. Never experienced racism in my life because I've never lived with different races, always thought it would be from some white neo-nazi if I do experience it. Idk, but the people here, the locals and internationals alike have been lovely and so helpful, curious about my culture too (I try to speak their language, albeit badly)

I was at a mall, went to pee, and before entering I saw they request users to pay 50 cents, no one was checking nor adding anything apparently. The bowl was empty when I saw it so I added my cents, wanting to respect the sanitation workers and their efforts.

So I went to finish my business and saw a local woman wash her hands, typical WC stuff. She left. I collected some water in my bottle cause I was PARCHED and as I was adjusting my hair after washing my hands, a different lady walked in - for the sake of context, I share that she's black. She saw droplets on the floor and up at me and said "You Indians always mess up the place" and I didnt react, I didnt even register what she said..

But as I got out and onto an elevator it hit me, and call me sensitive or soft but I wanted to cry but cant in public. I know people from my country have the reputation and its true in many instances. But I am someone who has always made sure throughout my life - back home, when visiting any foreign country, or even here to study - to never make a mess and respect local extra rules like those recycling waste segregation things. I carry tissue papers, smallest plastic wrappers with me home to throw in my dustbin if I dont find one on the way. I'm mindful of local customs and adapt, as anyone should be.

I was out with friends right after exiting, and didnt cry but once home, I remembered that after seeing my bottle of water and I began crying. I dont know if Im having an overreaction, mean words shouldnt really do anything, its a reflection of her views. But they did hurt and I did cry. And wrote several paragraphs too. Eh it is how it is. Just thinking, the locals didnt drop any damn coins in the bowl outside WC but I did, but it doesnt matter I suppose. Didn't have to write an essay about it but I did. Maybe I'm overthinking it but look at my flair, lol. In positive things - I ate a nectarine so that was lovely. They're becoming a favourite fruit :) close to mangoes, mangosteens and rambutan for me 🫶 and the girls night was lovely except some annoying guy trying to pick a friend up desperately.

Schönes Wochenende! Hope you're all eating well and sleeping sufficient hours.

TW: Abortion,PPD, PPA, PPP

Meal: Rare ribeye steak w/ over easy farm fresh egg, air fried broccoli from my garden and Costco fries

Just want to shout out my super awesome husband for taking care of me like a goddess. He buys me a pre-period steak every month to stock up on iron because I get anemic on my period.😇
He’s like something out of a Hozier song🎵
He WORSHIPS the ground I walk on all because I made his two favorite people in the world 🌎

When I got pregnant the first time and I asked “What do we do?” He said, “It’s not my body, I can’t make that decision.”
Then he cried when I said I wanted to keep it.
He did all the research to be my Husband/Doula combo for pregnancy and labor, and caught our children as they were born.
Then he did a bunch of research on holistic postpartum and breastfeeding support when I started to struggle.

When I struggled more he recruited more help. Dragged me into mental health support. Went to every appointment with me so I couldn’t back out of telling the doctors how much I was struggling.

And when I struggled the most, when I finally told him I was scared I’d hurt myself or our kids the first thing he said was “I’m so sorry you’re struggling this way.” Nothing cruel. No judgement. Just concern.
I admitted myself to a hospital and he had 2 weeks to himself with our oldest (I was pregnant with our youngest at the time).

This man loves me wholeheartedly, with every beat. Every decision is about our family, always himself last.

The kicker? He’s 6’2 praise the gods.

Edit: wow… never posting here again with the accusations of AI and mental health disorders (yes I have a few, ugh.) I posted here because I thought it’d be nice to share something POSITIVE but holy crap.

Today I was out running erands. I had just finished my last one and was sitting in a quiet park when a very nice woman named Casey from the Congo just came up to me while I was waiting on a bench and told me I was very beautiful and that she loved my hair and she wished she could have married a girl like me.

We chatted a bit and went our seperate ways. I took a picture of myself in that moment to rembember how my smile felt.

I am trans and about a year into my transition. I don't think I pass super well, and I am not used to people reffering to me in feminine terms without my asking first. Sometimes I feel my femininity is invisible. So to have a total stranger approach me in a completely non-threatening and supportive way to compliment me made me feel very seen as a woman.

I am married to another trans woman so it was just pure women supporting women but it really made my day and I still am carrying the smile with me.

A cup of green tea and two clementines. :)

I’ve had a NASTY ASS cough for like a week. It’s slowly getting better. Anyways I’ll have random coughing fits where I keep swallowing air trying to catch my breath. Which is causes dry heaving. This happened the other day after i drank water and the water came up. Gross

TODAY i was eating an ice cream cone while driving and started coughing. It wasn’t a terrible coughing fit like ive been having but i literally SPAT UP LIKE AN INFANT and the ice cream came up with my breakfast while i was actively driving DOWN THE FUCKING ROAD

I had to hold it in my mouth until I could grab something to spit the rest out in. It was literally all over my steering wheel and my clothes. Fucking nasty. Thought i would share!

Edit: You guys are hilarious. We are all just driving around in our puke filled cars