I wish I could take comfort in Sartre. I'm just reaching the age when the generation before me is passing in significant percentages, and my generation is starting to.

What I feel about that is very lonely, mostly. I can and do make strong connections with younger generations, and that's lovely.

I lost so many friends to HIV/AIDs, and now I'm losing them to ordinary mortality, and sometimes feeling joy again is very hard. I miss my irreplaceable people.

I cried reading your story, not that it's overwhelmingly sad. It's positive and uplifting, but for me, it's weak tea. (That's not your fault, it's mine!)

There, those are my raw, unfiltered feelings immediately after reading.

Thanks so much for writing!