Today I am tired and feeling like I wish a mother****** would, so we’ll keep this short.

Let this be your semi-annual reminder that “sorry” is a great word to have in your vocabulary because without it we are all just bullies looking to beat the other person into submitting to the pain we inflict on them. Sorry recognizes the other person’s humanity and defers to it.

Let us also remember that there’s nothing fucking inherent in sex chromosomes that means someone likes cooking, cleaning, caretaking, camping, or craft beers as a factor of their genitalia, and nothing about genitalia that guarantees anything about gender. I’m looking at you, ads for Valentine’s Day gifts. Give yourself the gift of gender expression beyond what you see in a Macy’s catalog this year.

Just in case you forgot what your gender was and where it’s allowed to shop.

And finally,  remember that it’s okay not to be okay, but watch for when that turns into “never okay.” It’s okay to be sad, angry, or overwhelmed. It’s okay to feel happy when things are sad, enraging or overwhelming, too. To be human is to feel moments like these. But like with anything, please, please tell someone if you’re spending what feels like too much time being not okay, or distanced from the things you’re feeling. We are social, and social creatures need to lean on friends and loved ones sometimes. It’s okay. We’re all figuring it out together.