I didn’t have a therapist or counselor to express anything that I was feeling towards, and when I would try to use my blog for some kind of outlet, I would get a striking lack of sympathy–or even hositility, delegitimizing my emotions. Your line, “Hey, you’ve got other partners, still, right?” really hit home for me–as much as I believe in poly, I don’t know if, or how, I’ll be able to practice it again. For me, it’s enough simply trying to have a Life.

Also, a big issue in the “social support” area is kids’ friends and their parents. Even if you are “out”, or at least not actively “in”, it’s hard to know at what point (if any) to divulge polyness to these people, who are often mere acquaintances. And does it matter if it gets to them via their kids in some distorted form? There’s still a concern that some will stop their kids from coming over if they get a whiff of something “weird”. Yet being part of a school community can make all the difference if you suddenly find yourself in the emergency room with Child A at the time that Child Band Child C need to be collected from school.