A meara that starts with meara!
Ugh. I just got confirmation that the girl I went on a second date with DID have a good time....but didn't feel any chemistry. I am so over all of this. I fucking hate all of it. Dating, being single when every fucking person I am friends with is part of a couple, never finding anyone who's into me. Also I hate my job and want to quit. But love that sweet sweet paycheck. It's monday and I'm already over this week.
meara is me...except for the actually going on dates part.
And having a crush on one of the only other single friends I have but being deathly afraid to take action for fear of trashing the friendship.
On catching up - Whoa! And the actually taking action at work part. I'm so impressed that you've recognized your need for change and you've taken a (no doubt scary) first step, meara. I hope you find clarity and next steps present themselves to you! (And also me, please, G-d.)
Allyson, it sounds like you and your folks are doing an amazing job to save your niece from what could be a nightmare situation. May it all turn out for the best for her. If you are able to adopt her, she will be blessed to be yours.
While nothing can shut off the hypervigilance, instead of scanning the vicinity for nonexistent threats, composing photographs gives my brain something useful to do with the information it is bombarded with, and can be quite soothing.
If you don't want to include the detail about the hypervigilance, I think you could still use the last half of the sentence.
My brain keeps wanting to add something with creating art/expressing yourself out of your pain/experiences/background.
Another catchup - also, what Jesse said!