Meltdown

I didn't take a single photo when I went out today. It was beautiful but too, too cold to stop pedaling the bike to take the camera from the back-pack. Heck, it was too cold to really even look for anything to photograph! I made my trip to the post office and came directly home, except for a brief stop at my daughter's to drop something off (she wasn't home).

Earlier today, I had a chat on-line with a friend which turned from a light chat into a heaviness that I didn't expect nor want. She suffers from bouts of depression and I am always at a loss for how to maneuver such treacherous waters when aspects of it make their way into conversation. Today, it turned on a cliché that is a particular sore spot between her and her mother ~ something I wouldn't, of course, had known.

I like to think I'm a good listener and I like to think that I'm generally quite empathetic to my friends' problems, but sometimes I know I'm not the best person to listen or empathize all the time. It frustrates me and I know it frustrates her, and I feel that I only make things worse by trying to stress positivity; trying to convince her to let go of those things which pull her down.

Too often, I feel like I'm wrong for believing she can conquer her ills.