u/Mental-Newt-420

A bit of lifestyle context, my partner and I are avid gamers. We are 100% going to put aside a lot of our screen time for the better good of our kids, but im wondering if theres a way to allow mutual screen time without rotting their brains entirely. My parents were gamers, I grew up gaming alongside them, and everything below is essentially what they did for me starting at age 8. I didnt get a cellphone until middleschool (because I walked home lol. It had 3 buttons- mom, dad, 911) and I didnt have any smart tech until late high school. Ok enough context haha.

The idea (spurred by social media but id been chewing on this for a while already): using an old desktop PC, no internet, and only access to edutainment CD roms, ideally nothing I didnt personally play as a child. I-Spy, Reader Rabbit, Freddy Fish, Putt-Putt, etc. Give them access to basic word processing programs and ms paint. I also fully intend on getting them and oldschool Leapfrog. And all of this is family computer style with clear line of sight and regulated time, not just a free for all.

To any parents who have thought this, is it a massive mistake? Am I going to create a “give a mouse a cookie” situation but with tech? On paper, it sounds reasonable to myself and my husband but I fear im missing something huge. I know it worked out for me but I was growing up in Y2K, not 2030 🥲

I dont even know what flair to pick, its not necessarily a problem with our relationship itself but…… ill just start!

Im 28, Ive been with my boyfriend for 2 years (4 including friendship). We are going to start trying for kids in a few months. He KNOWS im set on marriage (legal and financial reasons mostly but i do want that step in a relationship for the sake of the bond as well. neither of us are religious). We discussed rings and sized a while ago so i know hes got all the info.

We were thinking about going on vacation, no real date planned, but then a few days ago he texts me from work, saying to go ahead and book it for *two weeks from now*. Oh!!! Okay!! No problem, im perfectly excited. I have our stuff booked, got a great deal, i can make it romantic because we have fully acknowledged its going to be a final quiet hurrah before we get busy again.

i feel like hes going to propose, and i want it to be a surprise, but the anticipation is making me ILL. Im surprised at how badly i want this lol.

i was in an abusive relationship before this which had engagement held over my head for *years*. That guy screwed me up in a number of ways and when i resolve one traumatic aspect, another one somehow surfaces. But I digress 😮‍💨

I trust my boyfriend implicitly. He has a much better memory than i do so i dont doubt he wrote my ring size and preferences down ages ago. ALL of my friends agree that ‘men dont behave this way without a plan’ and that theres almost no way im leaving this trip not engaged. He insisted it be soon, insisted i book what i want. Several of his close friends and a coworker got engaged recently so i know hes got that on his mind.

Every single sign points to “hes gonna propose, silly”. Like logically and realistically, my friends are right. I just keep worrying about what if he doesnt. What if I have to come home and tell people he let me down. Then i get disgusted and sad with myself for not being able to just…. trust him.

Ugh. Internet parents, how can i just enjoy this trip? How can i just be excited for something that is REALLY LIKELY to happen? I know a lot of this is trauma that i am actively working on, but this one snuck up on me for sure.

IM TIRED OF THESE DAMN MOOD SWINGS! Holy FUCK.

I feel like I’m freefalling. I got the Kyleena IUD inserted in December ‘25, it’s been honestly great up until seemingly a month ago. Ive started having spotting again and my PMDD is rancid. I was genuinely pretty ok emotionally RIGHT up until now. I can deal with pain… I cant deal with feeling like a whole different entity possesses me.

Ive been through this literally more times than i can count. Ive trialed 8 different other birth controls over close to 2 decades, Im by no means a stranger to this bullshittery. But Ill be damned if the 1,000th time is any easier than the first 😮‍💨

Right now, in particular, Im embarrassed because I had a huge ugly emotional breakdown in front of my boyfriend over a super trivial thing. We live together, he knows my daily pain is getting to me again, but he isnt inside my brain and I hadnt adequately informed him of my recent mental state. He didnt mean to upset me by asking me to clean something and I didnt expect to lash out from embarrassment… and then i was embarrassed that i was embarrassed…. yadda yadda. Cue the worrying about being worthy and having too much baggage spiral. But this man is LITERALLY planning on marrying me, we just booked a tropical vacation for the end of the month where im *99.9% sure hes going to propose*. There is nothing in this world that provides evidence that he doesnt want to be with me. But these damn hormones are the devil on my shoulder i guess 😅

Im getting the IUD removed in a few months to TTC (which I am wholly excited for) and my parents are moving to be 25 minutes away from us so my future is incredibly exciting. I know this [waves hands wildly] is temporary. Writing this out takes a huge weight off, even if no one sees it. I like thinking that maybe someone else is having the same kind of issue and wouldnt feel so alone if they stumble across this. Ive still got a bit of insecurity and shame floating around but its manageable now.

Fuck this disease and fuck all the ways it worms its nasty little tendrils into everything. Im going to *really* up my self care and mindfulness for the next few days. Sending love to all you out there tonight who may be struggling. May your heating pads always be hot, may your cramps remain lowkey, and may your hormones be kinder to you all ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

hilarious, clever, and gory in a way that perhaps can be managed. I think- if possible- this would be a fantastic watch :)

edit: i rushed to post, minorly glorged title. *THE* Cabin in the Woods.