A Little Valentine's Day Check-In

How is everyone doing today?

It's been a little while since we've all sat down to talk. World-Weary is growing into a community now, albeit a small one- a few people comment regularly, and a couple more pop in to say 'hello' now and then.

The world is a little topsy-turvy these days, and I know I'm not the only one who's dealing with a bit of stress. That's how World-Weary got its name, after all; those of us who pay attention tend to grow tired and run down as things continue to get worse.

I find it helps me cope when I know there are people in my corner, and seeing as how we tend to be social critters, I figure most of you probably feel the same.

The last few months have brought a lot of highs and lows for me. I lost my dog Shiloh a few months back, and then I lost my other dog Ruby a little while afterwards. While Shiloh had been sick, Ruby left us very suddenly and without warning due to complications with a medical procedure.

I've been entirely heartbroken by both losses, as you might imagine.

On the flip side, I've also gotten engaged! I'm caught see-sawing between sadness and joy, mourning my girls and also planning my wedding. It's a lot.

The world around us is similarly unsettled, although things certainly do seem to be trending towards the negative if you go by the world's headline news. It's not an atmosphere that makes it easy for people to heal and recuperate after being hurt.

That's why having a community is so important.

First and foremost, I'd love World-Weary to be the kind of place where people can reach out to one another. To talk, to share their thoughts, to create friendships with like-minded individuals.

There's a reason I describe it like a comfortable lounge where people can put their feet up, have a cup of tea and nibble on a cookie. We're all tired when we get here, and we could all use a cozy place to take a break and revel in being surrounded by sanity for a while.

Let's assume the cookies are heart-shaped and full of chocolate today. For thematic purposes.

Not everyone is willing or able to share personal details about their lives, and that's fine. You aren't obligated to talk to strangers about what's going on in your lives if you don't want to. But I'd love to know how my people are doing, even in vague and general terms.

The comment section is always open to my readers; you don't need to be a paying member to leave a message, or to like and respond to someone else's. Even just a message saying 'hi' or offering someone else a friendly word when they're going through a bad time. That's how we support one another when we only have the written word.

Especially with today being Valentine's Day, a day of love and connection. We don't do a whole lot in the way of romantic shenanigans around here, unless you count celebrations of marriage rights around the world.

(Psst- congratulations, Greece! Marriage and adoption for same-sex couples! That's freaking amazing!)

Still, there's no reason we can't throw a little bit of platonic love and friendship around. Treat it like confetti and glitter. Once we throw it on each other, it will be with us forever and ever. No matter how many times we shower, vacuum, or get frustrated and shave our hair off to try and get rid of it.

Being able to lean on one another is the only way we will ever succeed in getting anything done. It's like I always say:

Solidarity wins.