Anonymous

I had grown to learn that fighting=love. I was dead wrong.

I often think about the people in my hometown whose lives were ruined because they live in the “wrong” state. That same stigma causes me to feel horrible after I smoke.

This support my gender-fluid child receives at school means so much to my family, but the ripple effects of what the children will learn will go far.

I was married to my own child for 21 years. I thought I was marrying my high school sweetheart, but I was actually becoming my husband's mother.

When I heard about the Ashley Madison hack, my heart sank. Not because any of my information would be released — but because I knew my husband’s would. Several years ago, my husband created an Ashley Madison account behind my back.

That’s part of the problem, I think. I keep waiting for my sexual partners to figure out how to bring me to orgasm.

Over those five years, I volunteered on hot summer days and rainy mornings. I stood in snow, wearing warm layers and fleece mittens. I volunteered beside women and men, many of them young, like me, but some older and wiser and living out a lifetime of experience on those sidewalks.

I lit-up, inhaled, and slowly released the sweet smoke. It was beautiful and relaxing until I was interrupted with these, dreaded, words: “MOM?! Are you smoking?”

This article first appeared on Mamamia and has been republished with perm

I start each day by drawing two cards for guidance, and then further consulting the deck. Last fall, tarot cards saved my life.