The Anatomy of Friendship

[xmas74]

10. I'm 38

I've done similar-purged a number of friendships that, in my twenties, I would have fought to maintain.

I was upset at first, almost in a state of mourning but not anymore. I actually feel relieved, like a weight has been lifted. I have only a few friends left and since "the purge" I've actually felt freer to open up to them on a more personal level than ever.

It took me having my teenager tell me that she didn't like my friends to get me to really look at what was going on. I've always told her that she needed to stand up for herself and that if a friend treats you poorly they are not a real friend. Well, she threw that back in my face-and she was right.

(Oh, and one of my closest friends-an ex boyfriend who calls himself a conservative Republican, though he's not.)