Dear T,

Our new email arrangement was working great for me yesterday. Not so much today. I really need to stop anticipating that you will respond to the nuances of what I write you. I will try my best to read your words as if they have compassion behind them. I imagine they do, but sometimes they fall kind of flat and my head wants to interpret all kinds of things about them.

Your four-word response to my gently teasing email (that didn't at all address the tender things I was saying) stung. Reading it made my stomach hurt and my head feel spinny. I'm going to write this here, because I really need to get on with my day and take care of the people *I* need to take care of.

I hope you enjoy your weekend. I will try to enjoy mine without being preoccupied with this whole email thing. And I will try to remember the hundreds and thousands of kind words that you've given me over the years. Thank you for those.