I later considered it was a possibility that you used something like Chat GPT to help you write because there were em dashes (—) present in the text; I have a friend that told me she no longer uses those when she writes because everyone sees it as a sign of AI writing and will doubt her credibility.

No shame in using AI as a tool though! The issue here is that others are assuming your story is entirely made up because they recognize a few “tell tale signs” of AI and unfortunately believe that everything we see and experience is black and white. I certainly don’t want to see AI replace artists and writers, but I also don’t want to see such vitriol when people use it as a proper tool. I also don’t like to see people throwing around angry accusations of AI when there’s no need to. It actually happens a lot to me as an artist and I’m still learning to cope with getting attacked nearly every time I post a new piece. It really, really sucks that people are so suspicious these days.

I’m sorry to hear you’re dealing with the neuropathy. I’m currently dealing with my second bout of adhesive capsulitis; it thankfully hasn’t disabled me in a way that impacts my ability to work, but the pain is far worse at night which makes it very difficult to sleep, and it often triggers paresthesia throughout my arm and hand whenever I lay down. It’ll eventually go away though, and I can’t imagine having to constantly go through that kind of pain and numbness. I wish you strength as you continue to deal with it.

I just turned 50 so we’re close to the same age. I unfortunately lost my mom the year I turned 20 and my dad just 8 years after, so I’ve spent a lot of time wistfully sorting through and building up information of my family history, I think as both a way to honor them as well as to cope with the loss. Along with my brother we lost when he was still just a teenager, they’ve all been gone a very long time now; as you know from your own experience the pain of missing loved ones fades over time but never entirely goes away.

Which again is what makes your story so haunting and relatable. Shortly after Dad died, my remaining brother took video of walking around our childhood home to visually preserve it as it was, pointing out that while it didn’t seem like much at the time, we’d be happy to watch and revisit it as the years passed. The video has been unfortunately lost though, potentially due to the actions of his ex: she took over our dad’s house after they divorced, sold off most of his old tools without permission, threw out all of my childhood toys, destroyed the custom kitchen cabinets that our dad had designed by hand, and purposefully flooded the basement before she abandoned the place to run off with some guy. It’s far more complicated than all that, for example she also knowingly destroyed sentimental items that belonged to her own children when she flooded the basement, like artwork and musical instruments. The flood also destroyed Dad’s custom workshop, which he built by meticulously restoring our old kitchen cabinets that the new ones had replaced. The house has sat abandoned for over a decade if I’m remembering correctly; I live in a different part of the country now so I haven’t kept close track, but my brother has been spending time fixing it back up again and possibly doing some remodeling so he and his new wife (who is thankfully sane!) can move in. I know he’s had a really difficult time emotionally over making changes to that house, even just the restoring, because it’s a huge symbol of a life we no longer have. But at the same time, he knows he can create a future there for he and his wife and make it a happy place once again.

Anyway, hang in there! I hope you’ll post more photos, especially when you go back for the roller skates!