Skeezyks, thank you for your kind reply. Other than my family, I can only count one person as a friend, and I see her perhaps once or twice a year.

You raise some very good points about keeping up appearances regarding looking good. Showing up disheveled will only provoke more questions that I won't be able to answer. Without realizing it, I did the same things previously when I eventually met up with my family after a long period of "hibernation." I don't know that I'm as gifted as you are in coming up with things to say. I tend to just stare ahead blankly, like an idiot. But having some answers readily available will definitely be helpful. Now I just have to think about how to answer when I'm asked why I haven't been answering their phone calls...