How I’m Becoming Friends with my Ex by Becoming Friends with my Anger
Anger is there for a reason. It’s like pain — it tells you something is wrong.
I told myself I wouldn’t look at my text messages and so, although my thumb automatically double-clicks my phone’s home button which displays my open apps, I click back to the article I’d been reading instead of my message app.
I turned off my notifications for a reason. I don’t need my impulsive fingers to override my better judgment. I don’t need to see if Gabriel wrote me back.
It started with the question: Is it possible to be friends with my ex?
After our breakup last August, Gabriel and I agreed we still wanted to be in each other’s lives. It ended up being too hard at first — we slipped back into the same dynamic as before, and then broke up a second time, this time even more painfully.
Nearly six months after our breakup though, despite the challenges, I can still see the benefits of rekindling our friendship. Gabriel helped me find more discipline and structure in reaching my goals, and I helped him let go a bit.
And yet each time I’ve thought about texting him over the past couple of months, I didn’t end up following…
