DEAR ABBY: I received a Facebook invitation to my 35th high school reunion. I was bullied constantly in every grade. I had no friends in my class, and the memories I have are not pleasant. I composed a letter expressing the hope that the attendees enjoy reminiscing, and then added that I have no desire to see any of them again. In the letter, I called out by name several former classmates with specifics on their bullying and cruel treatment.
Bullying has long-lasting consequences, and that pain never really goes away. I shared my letter with a friend who suggested I send it in Facebook Messenger to the organizer. I’m afraid to do it. I thought sharing it with my friend would be cathartic. I don’t know what good it would do to share it with my former classmates.
DEAR INVISIBLE: Feeling as you do, I think you should show up at the reunion with a friend, if you can stomach it, and deliver that message in person. Whether your former classmates care or not, they should know that having been bullied and excluded carried lifelong consequences for their target. Some of them may even offer you an apology -- 40 years late -- now that they have matured.DEAR ABBY: I’m a single mother of a 2-year-old girl whose father has been absent for most of her life.
DEAR MOM: That your ex has matured enough that he now wants to be a part of his daughter’s life is laudable. But allow it only if he’s willing to get counseling for his anger problem. If he does that, it will then be time for you to find the courage to quit sneaking around, inform your family you want your daughter to know her father and proceed from there, hoping he won’t flake out again.