Well, that explains that catch in your voice Monday night...
I've always been terrified of the ampersand. I still am. Heck, I've had some unpleasant experiences due to it. But in thinking about how to respond to this, I had a thought which is relevant to me, and might be to you, too. There are three people who might start thinking of you as "Kat & <foo>". You, <foo>, and other people. Which one do you care about/which one are you worried about? (There are good reasons for all three.) If it's entirely external, yes, it affects how people interact with you, but is it important to be afraid of it/fight it, or is it sufficient to speak up when people take the actions as a result of the way they're thinking which make you uncomfortable? Yourself, you can somewhat control, and your partner, you can talk to more deeply about exactly what it is you're afraid of and how to keep it from happening.
Also, you're not terrible at being honest. You find it difficult. There's a difference.
I don't want it to end. It might, or it might radically change, and that's ok. But it might not, and that's scary, but it's ok too. And I'd prefer the positive-and-ok to the negative-but-ok. I think sometimes about how it will work if it doesn't (end).
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I've always been terrified of the ampersand. I still am. Heck, I've had some unpleasant experiences due to it. But in thinking about how to respond to this, I had a thought which is relevant to me, and might be to you, too. There are three people who might start thinking of you as "Kat & <foo>". You, <foo>, and other people. Which one do you care about/which one are you worried about? (There are good reasons for all three.) If it's entirely external, yes, it affects how people interact with you, but is it important to be afraid of it/fight it, or is it sufficient to speak up when people take the actions as a result of the way they're thinking which make you uncomfortable? Yourself, you can somewhat control, and your partner, you can talk to more deeply about exactly what it is you're afraid of and how to keep it from happening.
Also, you're not terrible at being honest. You find it difficult. There's a difference.
I don't want it to end. It might, or it might radically change, and that's ok. But it might not, and that's scary, but it's ok too. And I'd prefer the positive-and-ok to the negative-but-ok. I think sometimes about how it will work if it doesn't (end).