Good points. I’ve always been fortunate to see through people so I rarely have to sidestep relationships. But I have been saddened by the lack of quality relationships I’ve been able to make as I’ve gotten older. Is it just me or does it get harder?

I grew up with a mother who refused to gossip and even lost friends because of it, so that’s #1 on my list. If they talk poorly about others, they’re doing the same about you—period. My partner is the only person I “gossip” with and he usually has to bug me to say anything.

But what really pulled my heartstring is when you pointed out people who don’t ask about you/us… This makes me so sad. As I’ve gotten older, it’s been very difficult for me to understand because it rarely happened when I was younger. I used to love meeting people and exchanging information and life stories.

Now I meet people and they don’t have much to say. My curiosity is rarely matched and even worse, they usually don’t reciprocate at all. It makes me feel invisible, like I don’t matter.

I’m not sure if it’s because of the world we’re living in or what, but I’m with you—if someone doesn’t ask about you, they don’t care about you.

It’s too bad…