When I was a kid, I used to Go

"When I was a kid, I used to go over to friend's houses and notice that their parents never seemed to bully them or hit them." When I was 11, in 7th grade, I had dinner at a friend's house; the first time I can remember having dinner anywhere that wasn't my parents' house or my grandparents'. And I was astounded to realize that at my friend's house, when the kids were hurt or needed comforting or needed some calomine lotion on their poison ivy, the adults thought it was the responsibility of the adults to take care of the kids. And I was so used to taking care of myself and not expecting the adults around me to take care of me - because no one did - that I freaked a little, inside, and didn't know what to do when my friend's mom put calomine on my poison ivy. And I've kind of always had trouble receiving help or comfort or whatever from other people - and I'm 65 now. So it's really important to talk about this stuff, whether it's the emotional distance thing or the how you do sex thing, or whatever. Talk about your experience and figure out what's your assumptions. Lynn