Who's who in Hylie's head #1: Joy

Joy is the part of me that had to be split off and completely locked out of the system.  I found her first...I saw her as an undead child climbing out of a pool of water, water streaming from her mouth and empty eyesockets.

I mentally recreated our old closet, where she buried her drippy self under a pile of stuffed animals.

I would leave a plate of cookies outside the door, and she'd disappear them.

...Eventually we got her dried up and not quite so dead...Then one day, she woke up.

It was like my heart was a NUCLEAR EXPLOSION OF LOVE for about the next six hours.  It was as if everything, EVERYTHING, was precious, beautiful, fresh and fascinating, and the people!  I had to go to the clinic that day... and restrain myself from hugging strangers because they looked like they needed a hug!

I doubt that would have gone over well.

I was calling Joy "Littleme."  She chose the name Joy herself.

One night we were crying and then...Joy was copiloting our body.   She started crying at the big, wrinkly body she inhabited, and she just could not get over the size of my feet!  Also the calluses, and how big my big toes are

I really do have huge feet...

(She says now "They are SOOO big! And SOOO ugly!"  Thanks kiddo... )

I was thinking, "Gee, thanks, kid!"  and kind of laughing at the...well,  truly honest assessment of a six-year-old suddenly finding they were in a 38-year-old body...

But she was saying all this stuff to my blockhead ex-wife, who didn't get that it really wasn't me anymore.  Swear to gawd, the ex wouldn't get a nuance if it smacked her in her forehead.

So she went to get on the computer and talk to "Unca LOU!"

My best friend and/or far away love interest, in England.  Lou told her to go back to bed in a very proper English way, and this made her feel very safe.

This was what really, really led me to start believing I was multiple...especially the feet thing...I mean, I know I take men's size 10 shoes.

Joy likes cookies a lot.Someone at work gave me a couple of cookies, and all of a sudden I LOVED everybody...I was being so lovey, and then I realize...yeah, Joy's out.  The cookies.

The problem being that the amount of cookies I bought is the amount of cookies I am about to eat, so individual serving size package is mandatory.



Joy is the part of me that had to be split off and completely locked out of the system.  I found her first...I saw her as an undead child climbing out of a pool of water, water streaming from her mouth and empty eyesockets.

I mentally recreated our old closet, where she buried her drippy self under a pile of stuffed animals.

I would leave a plate of cookies outside the door, and she'd disappear them.


...Eventually we got her dried up and not quite so dead...Then one day, she woke up.


It was like my heart was a NUCLEAR EXPLOSION OF LOVE for about the next six hours.  It was as if everything, EVERYTHING, was precious, beautiful, fresh and fascinating, and the people!  I had to go to the clinic that day... and restrain myself from hugging strangers because they looked like they needed a hug!

I doubt that would have gone over well.


I was calling Joy "Littleme."  She chose the name Joy herself.

One night we were crying and then...Joy was copiloting our body.   She started crying at the big, wrinkly body she inhabited, and she just could not get over the size of my feet!  Also the calluses, and how big my big toes are

I really do have huge feet...

(She says now "They are SOOO big! And SOOO ugly!"  Thanks kiddo... )

I was thinking, "Gee, thanks, kid!"  and kind of laughing at the...well,  truly honest assessment of a six-year-old suddenly finding they were in a 38-year-old body...


But she was saying all this stuff to my blockhead ex-wife, who didn't get that it really wasn't me anymore.  Swear to gawd, the ex wouldn't get a nuance if it smacked her in her forehead.

So she went to get on the computer and talk to "Unca LOU!"


My best friend and/or far away love interest, in England.  Lou told her to go back to bed in a very proper English way, and this made her feel very safe.

This was what really, really led me to start believing I was multiple...especially the feet thing...I mean, I know I take men's size 10 shoes, I have big feet.  She was seeing our body for the first time since age 6.


Joy likes cookies a lot.   Someone at work gave me a couple of cookies, and all of a sudden I LOVED everybody...I was being so lovey, and then I realize...yeah, Joy's out.  The cookies.


The problem being that the amount of cookies I bought is the amount of cookies I am about to eat, so individual serving size package is mandatory.
Something else...Joy was actually floating in a pool of tears.  I realized the only way to get those tears out, drain all the grief, was to cry those tears.     I'm working on it.