Our community is small — running into exes everywhere

Sending you so much strength. The first few weeks are the hardest and they do pass. It is okay to feel relieved. Relief is not the same as not caring.

also learned to keep one venue that's just mine, a coffee shop the exes don't use. everyone deserves neutral ground.

my trick is having an exit line ready. good to see you, i'm just heading out. rehearsed it so many times it's automatic now.

One practical note from the legal side: if any of those run-ins ever turn hostile or harassing, keep a brief log of when and where. Hopefully you never need it, but it's far easier to note than to reconstruct.

it stings less every time, promise. the tenth run-in is nothing like the first.

the small-community thing is so real. i gave myself permission to just nod and keep walking, no performance required. that tiny rule saved me.

Small communities can't give you distance, so the work becomes internal boundaries instead of physical ones. That's genuinely learnable, and a few sessions focused on it go a long way.