[StephN]

Our dear founders of this site have often expressed that they view these boards as an extension of their own Living Room. (I well understand this concept, as my husband and I had an upscale French restaurant and we ALSO considered it as an extension of OUR living room!)

In anyone's living room many people will pass. Some will be close like family or well-liked neighbors, others will be new acquaintences who are fleeting. Some will be the picture of health and a lot of fun to be around, others will be of a serious bent and others elderly or feeble.

Any family or neighborhood has a fairly complete mix of people and this board is no different.

Take a look at the "Just For Fun" thread where posters have shared more about who they are and where they come from.

Any given family will have someone who is the "go to" person in case of various events or problems. This board is a "go to" place where just about anything can be spoken about, and the "go to's" here will respond.

I think it is really OK and actually healthy to have a mix of emotions, but not to be sad too often. However, I have felt that as I have "lost" so many friends and acquaintences to this disease over the years, I have to stay involved for my own selfish reasons. I must overcome the sad days, and concentrate on the living. It is a way of strengthening my inner core to keep going on myself, in spite of all that this disease has wrought on my body. My mind and my emotions/spirit are MINE and this disease can not control those parts of me. NO, NO, NO.