Disappearing act

Hey... if a certain number of you don't see me around, in either virtual or actual reality, don't worry. I'm neither dead nor missing, I'm just... retreating from this particular social scene for a little while. I need a little time to myself, and a lot of time to spend with certain friends who, frankly, completely understand me and my current state of mind and empathize with a lot of the issues that I'm attempting to sort through now.

I need to come to terms with my parents' relationship and my own bad experiences, in my own way and under my own terms. I've accepted that, while I can't do this alone, I can and have chosen to be with people who have been through similar experiences and have had similar thoughts. They'll let me work through things at my own pace, and they'll provide exactly the type of help I need without my having to explain a thing. They'll just know. They won't advise; instead, they'll commiserate. They won't lecture; instead, they'll share. And, perhaps most important of all, they won't try to cheer me up or force upon me a falsely positive point of view. They'll let me sink my teeth into the problem and deal with it once and for all, and if that involves suffering from mild depression for a little while, then that's fine. It's an emotion that I need to experience and understand before I am able to move on, and they'll let me. They won't force me to jump back into the pool because they know that's not going to help. They won't be irritated with me for being anything less than happy, because they don't hold me to that unrealistic expectation.

I need to be sad for a little while. It means I'm facing reality.