Tough day here...but there is good

I learn new things all of the time here. There are great product recommendations too. Most people are kind, and the really rally when someone is in trouble or has a loss.

Are the books e-reader only?

I too have learned so much from the Peas. They have helped me spend $$, book recommendations and different opinions on so many things. So much help buying gifts for my DDs, SILs and now grandchildren. I have been Peaing since 2001.

I’ve made a few good friends here. We PM and we send messages on WhatsApp, and they always cheer me up. It’s bizarre to think that I could walk past them in the street because I might not recognise them! But they - and many others on this board too - support me, enable me and enrich my life in many ways. And there’s one Pea in particular that I regard as one of my closest friends, even though we have never met. Or at least, not yet. 🥰

I’ve made good friends here. In real life, too. I’ve learned all kinds of things I never knew about before. I’ve learned to read before I speak, and to think harder and more carefully about my beliefs. And I think I’m older than most of the peas, but you guys help keep me a little younger mentally.

Thank you, peas.

There is a lot of kindness here. I've bought more stuff than I care to admit based on pea recommendations, especially the stocking stuffer, board game and new scrapbook collection threads, and love most of it. I've tried all kinds of new things from Trader Joe's and I credit my love of sumo oranges (they're back BTW) to this board. Recently, I asked about scrapbook stuff at a Tuesday morning store about 1 1/2 hours from my house. peggs  very generously went to the store and took a few pictures. I am truly grateful for her kindness.  My middle Ds's senior year was challenging with the college application process and covid (he graduated in the spring of 2020).  I will be eternally grateful to the other senior moms for sharing their experiences.  Knowing that other families were experiencing similar things was reassuring. The thread with funny memes from spring 2020 was a bright spot during a really dark time.  I founds lots of fun new TV series and movies, thanks to pea recommendations.  I love the quirky fun facts and interesting stories that librarylady  posts.  The real estate threads are always interesting.  The cute pet posts are always fun to see.  And I enjoy the international peas perspectives on things. I'm now addicted to wordle thanks to a pea. There are a lot of positive things about this board, today notwithstanding.  

My thoughts exactly! All of it!

Definitely more good than bad.

This!! Perfectly said.

This is the only social media where I truly connect with people. As lesley said, I might not know you if I saw you in person but I feel I know a lot of people here and I get a lot of social and emotional support. As a childfree only in a rural area where my viewpoints often differ from those I'm physically around, it's so nice to feel a part of a group and not the odd one out. I learn so much, laugh a lot, and cry with some of you, too. I've really enjoyed the card swaps, also.

I actually HAVE learned so much here. I've said this before but this little snippet from a much longer post is exactly what I want to say in this thread...

There are times I've had my mind changed here, having spent so much time reading here with a group of women all so different and from so many different places, that I've come to realize we are ALL more alike than we are different. I've even come to a place where I approach my intake of what I hear from the media with an ear from all the women here. Knowing what you all would say.
You should hear me yell at my TV or podcast when I know the people I'm listening to have left something crucial out in order to make their point.

There IS a lot of good here. 

I have close friends that I meet with to scrapbook, make cards or just chat and organized almost every week. We keep track of each other's lives even though we are in different time zones. We ask for suggestions while we create . . . some are great at titles, other at placement, and sometimes even catching spelling errors on stamps!

I have friends who are of a different political views be very kind and reach out.

Others who have given advice on many things, help in finding services for my son . . . then passing it on to another pea. Checking in with me when things were really bad with DS, and helping me laugh.

Advice about medical situations and so on.

As a family we decided to not share on FB that our father passed on 1/31/22, but I could share here. We rejoice as he is no longer in pain or confused (95 with Alzheimers), and in heaven with his savior. My scrapping buddies shared my sorrow.

AND those who are happy with me about our purchase of our teeny tiny cabin on Gull Lake in MN! We closed on Friday, we have utilities a new boat on order and plans to be there for opening day of Walleye season. Some of these things I can't share IRL . . . but here I can!

Thanks Peas!

I love the peas!  Love, love, love you all.

I came here on one of my very darkest days and I let it fly.  Just how broken I felt.  The peas rallied around me.  Pages and pages of supportive posts.  PMs with peas commiserating because they are going through the same thing as me.  So many peas have shared so many stories via PM that I know I am not alone in the things I'm dealing with.  And so many have told me how valuable my sharing is for you to understand just how mental illness works.  A very kind group of peas rallied around me and sent me some wonderful packages.  They sent a Buddha board.  I keep it on my desk.  Each day, after my prayers/meditation, I sit down at my desk to log into work.  First, I write my biggest worry on that board and then watch it melt away and I try to be mindful of letting my worry go with it.  They sent me a weighted blanket.  I had never used one before but I wrap up in it every single day when I am reading and it just feels like the most giant hug from the peas.  I seriously love it.  I have recommended it to so many people because the weight of it instantly makes me feel calmer.  The dinner thread peas sent me cards after my DD's 4th suicide attempt and do you know that just yesterday, I pulled those cards out again and read them.  Because I needed those words yesterday.  And they are there, a tangible thing that offers me ongoing support and a reminder that I can get through the hardest times.  The fact that so many people who don't even know me in real life cared so much about me just brings tears to my eyes every time I think about it.

The thoughtfulness of the peas here I fear I will never be able to pay forward.  But I am trying. So many of you, I am invested in.  I look forward to hearing your stories.  I pray for you and I know you pray for me. 

I read almost every political thread on this board.  I don't often post, but I read them when I am in the right headspace.  The knowledge I have learned on them is incredible.  So many smart peas here!   I have reconsidered many things, I have come to understand both sides of an argument.  I feel it makes me more compassionate toward people whose beliefs differ from mine and more passionate about the things I do believe, after some clarity of thought. 

I have a habit of posting threads where I am trying to work something out in my head.  Hearing all your perspectives really helps me figure out how I feel about the situation.  So many times in our lives, we have everyone around us saying the same thing.  I know I'm never going to get that here.  I am always going to get a wide variety of perspectives and I think that is just so valuable.  Things I wouldn't have even thought about.  You guys have even provided a backbone to me when I'm feeling very flaky about something.  When I'm wrestling with guilt (which happens a lot), you guys help me see I shouldn't feel guilt or shame. That I can absolutely take advantage of the joy in my life.  

I have made some really good friends here.  Really good friends.  People I talk to off-board on the regular.  The craft thread and the scrapbooking board provide me with so much joy, too.  It's so nice to connect with people who share my creative outlets and are always there with an idea, a suggestion, and yes, to even enable me.    

These are the things that keep me coming back, day after day.  Some days, it is just too much and that's OK.  Somedays I have only enough mental space for the really good stuff here.  But when I feel up to it, I take it all in.  We are like sisters.  We love hard, we fight hard, but we are there.  Day in and day out.  There is always someone available here to talk with no matter the time of day.  I will never leave because I find such value here.  

Great thread! Yes I read through some of the bickering and decided to start my own silly thread to counteract the nastiness. I think we should flood the front page with a bit of harmless silliness and push the unpleasantness onto page 2. There's too much unpleasantness in the world. It's nice to have an escape.

On a sort-of-related note, if having a separate area for politics is unpopular, maybe we could go the other way and have a separate "safe" area/label where only unicorns and rainbows are allowed, and bickering has to be taken off-line or into the main page? Just a thought.

I love the craft thread and I'm always grateful to librarylady for her interesting links, even though they lose hours of my day as I disappear down internet rabbit-holes! I really enjoy reading about everyone's weather and natural events too. The UK so rarely gets anything dramatic, and I find north America's earthquakes and blizzards quite fascinating.

jeremysgirl, that is so wonderful that all the peas did things like that for you. I wish I had known because I would have contributed. You are one of my favorites here in pealand. <3

I think this place is pretty awesome. I have been the recipient of wonderful pea kindness many years ago, and I will never forget it or the person who did something nice for me. She still posts, and I always get a warm feeling seeing her.

Even during times when people are being shitty to each other, I look for the good. I took a break once a few years ago (around the time of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation) because his confirmation hearing as well as the things people were writing and saying here were extremely triggering for me, and I needed to step away for my own mental health after I was called a troll by someone who I also will never forget. LOL I didn't make an announcement, and I doubt anyone even noticed I was gone. At the time, I wondered if I would ever return, but I did eventually because the good I get here definitely outweighs the bad.

Now, I am pretty good and just stepping away from threads and people who piss me off. Some days, I am better at this than others. LOL