I live by myself.
I'm the only one of my family that I know of in the state.
Most of the people who know me also know where to find me online.
Most of the people I know and care about wax and wane from my life, depending on how busy we both are and how close we're feeling at the moment. At long last this has ceased to bother me. It's part of life. I miss people, and I welcome them back with joy, and I keep the connections live -- but there are few, precious few, people who I would track to the ends of the earth lest they disappear from me.
Shawn was one of them, once.
Darkside is, now.
Before it becomes an issue, I need to talk to him. We do need a plan for if ever we get separated. If I don't call -- I want him to call me, make sure I'm OK. If I don't answer the phone, I want him to come see that I'm all right. I don't think he's ever lived alone, so I don't think he thinks about these things. I may have my IM chiming off the wall and my e-mail flooded with comments, but I don't have the phone ringing off the hook or the local friends banging the door down.