Elysium! And NOT pathetic, by any stretch of the imagination. Relationships are in two directions and both sides have to do their parts to make it work, you know?

(Btw, I'm about to turn 47 and not anything like what I had hoped all those years ago. If it's any help, very few people are. Often even when they appear so. And relationship with my mother? Don't get me started. I live 3000 miles away and talk maybe every couple of years. And I dread it. It's not pathetic, it just is.)

And there are nice people out there. Really, there is. They may not always be easy to find, but they're out there.

Love my animals (and teddy bear!) too! They're good listeners.

And you're not whining. Sometimes we just have to get it out there.