When Friendships Expire
Some friendships that I made during low points in my life didn’t last after I healed and stopped people pleasing
“Hey Alex, I’m planning a long weekend trip next month! Would you like to come?”
“Hey Alex, I’m hosting a birthday party. Would you like to come?”
“Hey Alex, how’s it going? Thinking of you.”
“Hey Alex, are you planning to do anything for your birthday?”
“Hey Alex, happy birthday to you!”
Silence.
Over the last couple of years, I have had two of my long-lasting friends fade away and it’s been weighing on me. I wondered if there was something wrong with me and that was why I kept losing friends. That didn’t make sense though. Some of these friendships lasted for more than fifteen years so obviously they were working for a long time and then something changed. What I realized is that these friendships started when I was at a bad place in my life. Back then, I lacked boundaries, I could tell things weren’t going well but didn’t know why. I spent a lot of time hashing things over with my friends who acted as stand-in therapists. While it was nice to have some shoulders to cry on, things didn’t get better for me for a long time. I was able to keep these friendships while…
