To the Raised by Rangers Community,

Yesterday, when I received that incredible news about the Raised by Rangers Ffyo Website — having over 470,000 unique visitors in only 14 days — all of you — I reacted harder and deeper than I expected. We manage and build plenty of websites with far more users, and I’m used to pressure… but this hit differently. It hit me.

I steadied myself enough to finish the project I was working on when I was notified, but I still didn’t understand why the emotion came in so strong.

Honey and I have known each other over 40 years, and Gwennie has been in our lives almost 30. They’re my family — and that night, they helped me see what my heart had been trying to tell me.

Raised by Rangers isn’t just a story I’ve been writing. It’s my story. My journey. Not fiction. Not a character. Me.

And somehow, without me fully realizing it, you — this entire community as well as my amazing Rangers — have been helping me take down walls I spent a lifetime building. Through your support, your messages, your stories, your presence, and your willingness to walk this path with me, you’ve been walking along this path with me, beside the Rangers who guide Ffyo daily.

By teaching me how to help others communicate, express their needs, and find clarity, you’ve been teaching me to do the same for myself. And the part I never expected — the part that hit me so hard yesterday — is that you’ve been helping me heal.

For most of my life, I survived by walling things off — burying them under work, puzzles, responsibility, and drive. I ignored the heavy things because I didn’t know how to carry them. But because of this community… because of our conversations… because of what we’re building together…I’ve been facing each piece one at a time. Defuggling them. Letting in sunlight where there used to be shadows.

And a weight I’ve carried for decades is finally starting to lift.

I’m even beginning to look at moments from my past — moments I was never able to touch without sadness, and frustration— with clarity and without guilt, confusion, or self-shame. For the first time, I’m not running from them. I’m understanding them.

I always saw myself as the three-legged misfit — full of weird gifts, able to solve wild puzzles, but never good with people. That identity kept me safe for a long time.

But you all proved me wrong.

You showed me that I am so much more than that. You showed me that people can be kind, present, supportive, and patient — and that I can belong somewhere without hiding parts of myself.

And I’ve realized something huge:

Yesterday didn’t shake me because of numbers or traffic or growth. It shook me because over 470,000 unique users in 14 days is extraordinary, and it landed in a place inside me I used to keep locked away.

I’m learning how to communicate — not just outwardly, but inwardly. I’m learning that healing doesn’t come from shutting people out. Healing comes from having a community that stands still with you, listens with you, and helps you see what you’ve been carrying.

And that is exactly what this community has become:

A place where we support each other. A place where we share stories and wisdom. A place where we grow together. A place where every voice matters. A place where we belong — not alone, but together.

Thank you for helping me find my way. Thank you for walking this path with me.

Thank you for giving me a community where we’re all learning, growing, healing, and becoming — side by side.

I’m not just surviving anymore. I’m becoming.

— Ffyo