>This all sounds super absurd and feels weird to write and I feel stupid for getting into such a situation,

This may be a little off-topic, but you might find it helpful to read up on how falling in love affects us at a neurological/biochemical level. Specifically, I've found Dr. Helen Fisher's work to be pretty interesting. She's got a bunch of stuff on the web, but here's a couple things to get you started:

• The Nature of Romantic Love (PDF, 6 pages) - One of her earlier articles on the subject. It's very dry and scholarly, but it's short and captures the essence of her work.
• Why People Fall In Love (YouTube) - A more recent and approachable presentation.

The tl;dr to all of this is that "falling in love" isn't just an emotion. It's a biochemical process that takes place in the most primitive levels of our brain. And it radically affects our ability to think clearly and reason. In short, love makes us crazy.

... and the effects of this - the hormones that flood our system when we fall in love - last for 1-3 years.

All of which is to say that your brain is probably playing tricks on you. It's causing you to fixate on the positive aspects of the relationship, while overlook the negative. But in 1-2 years, that effect is going to wear off (for both of you). So think carefully about what it is you want and how this does or doesn't meet your needs. Or, better still, think about what you wanted *prior* to this relationship - that's going to be where the real "truth" lies, and what's likely to matter most once the fog of new love lifts.

Good luck.

This sort of thing comes with the territory when you’re divorced with kids. You text your ex regularly, and text apps don’t do a good job of making it easy to distinguish people. Texts are gonna go awry. We’ve all done it.

I’ve mis-sent texts intended for my girlfriend (now wife) to my ex on more than one occasion. And she’s done the same. It’s awkward, but you laugh about it and move on. In this hyper-connected world we’re in, it pays to be apologetic and compassionate.

I’ve actually come to see this sort of misstep as kind of a good thing. It helps keep us honest about our feelings. For example, your ex now knows about the fear you had - which is understandable by the way - but also that you were able to trust her despite that. That’s not a bad thing.

This will blow over.

Since this is clearly not a hypothetical based on your other comments…

• what is the nominal purpose of the tube? Drain pipe? Irrigation?
• Is the tube open at both ends?
• Is there any sort of airflow through it? (Take a handful of dirt/dust, let it fall directly in front of the tube opening, watch dust carefully for signs of air movement.)

If the tube is open, at that length I would expect the natural conditions (temperature and pressure differentials) to create a natural airflow, in which case it’s almost certainly breathable.

Aka “Scatter plot”

https://charlotte.axios.com/189273/sycamores-sexual-reindeer-beer-cans-prompts-a-visit-from-state-alcohol-enforcement/

It’s an Australian thing. (And someone from AUS should correct me if I have this wrong.)

Where beach cities in the US employ lifeguards, in AUS they have life saving “clubs”. Same basic role - to patrol the beach, rescue swimmers in distress - but they’re more social, more strongly identified with by the community. They also have competitions between clubs, so there’s more of a sporting element to it, kind of like lower-tier football (soccer) teams in England.

And yes, this is an American using an analogy to British sports to explain an Australian concept, so you’re right to be skeptical. 😜

> hooves?

Bears have paws.