You're too kind but thank you. It's folks like you that make places like this worth it.

Keeping in mind that of course I wish that I'd never met you- that you'd never had a reason to find PF- I still admit to being happy to see you post here, or in forum.

Before I got to the part about the changing weather, I already was fixin' to reply that you're about to lose that warm weather... I've been freezing, but the two halves of the nation are fixin' to flip this weekend, I think.

Seventh grade is brutal enough under ordinary circumstances, much less other stuff on top of it.

Cal is 17. He arrived at age 12 when we started at a new unfamiliar school. The father had just died suddenly, the mother went into a deep depression, and we had started junior high school. I think we needed someone with a little more maturity, someone who would be able to give us a fresh start. Who better than a brand new alter?

As with others, we used the last part of a famous name that began with John -- as a new alter's first name. In this case, we chose John Calvin.

Calvin -- Cal -- came so that we could maneuver through a brand new environment that was tougher than grade school. As a 7th graders, we were at the bottom of the ladder again and as clueless as other students who were facing puberty, while older students had already gone through it.

Due to his being host during much of our teens, Cal is the only one of us who has a real connection to the "cards" or "football" subsystem we formed shortly after his arrival. This subsystem was necessarily strongly separated from the rest of us, due to new maternal SA at such a vulnerable age. We communicate with Cal, he communicates with Hoyt, the subsystem's greeter, and Hoyt communicates with others inside the subsystem. It's a confusing process but we're glad he's with us and willing to lead this part of our work.

You reckon that you'd still be repressing the memories, and I tend to agree.

I have the urge to sympathise for your loss, but I know that's not exactly it, either. I suppose, I'm not sorry for your loss, I'm sorry for the lack of the need for saying I'm sorry for your loss. The last thing taken by him that wasn't his to take, I suppose. Your grief.