I don't know if we're supposed to/are allowed to comment here, but I'd just like to say hello, I suppose. I was going to make a post wondering where you were just the other day. Like you, sometimes I'm a terrible friend, and sometimes I get very wrapped up in being me and forget to do things I really ought to. I am phenomenally glad that you've addressed this and didn't just drift off into online oblivion like so many others.

I'd like to say that I think you're incredibly brave for saying all of these things. I have felt, at many different periods, very much like all of this (with the exception of the homeschooling bits, because I don't have children, and the parts about homosexuality, because I believe that God made everyone the way they are for a reason, and I do not believe that sexual orientation is something that you chose). But there have certainly been times since I joined this fandom that I have felt that I've been missing out on things during the time I've spent reading or writing or replying to posts. I wonder what my life might have been like if I'd never stumbled into fandom in the first place. Sometimes I contemplate leaving...but I'd miss it far too much. I don't think it makes me a bad person, either. And that's not to say that I think that you are accusing anyone of that, because truly I do not. I simply feel it has made me a different person. I'm not sure yet if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

In any case, I'm very sorry that you are leaving, because (as with most of my f-list) I enjoyed reading about your life and your children and your family and getting to know you as a person more than I ever enjoyed reading about your views on the fandom. I'll miss all your lovely stories about the Chicklets, of whom I have no doubt will grow up to be wonderful people.

Farewell. You will be missed.
Erin x