Reluctantly Letting Go - Republished

Letting go of any friendship is difficult, even one that has become rancid.

An old friend of mine no longer sees me in a positive light. The sparkling eyes from the laughter that my friendship once brought is gone. My presence is no longer acknowledged or welcome. No smiles. No willingness to hug or be hugged. Decades ago, that was not the case. Decades.

To be condemned for my weaknesses while neglecting to recognize and embrace my strengths causes me pain. It angers me as well, since it has taken years for me to see myself as the good and loving person that I am, to see all the beauty that I bring to this world and to those whose lives I touch.

Given the circumstances, it is no wonder that we are no longer able to bring out the best in each other. I mourn the loss nonetheless.

Spare Keys And Missing Socks

How many of you have a collection of spare keys, which you never use, but dare not throw away, because you have no idea what lock they might open?

Do you sometimes wonder how it is that you came to own so many of them?

Well, wonder no longer. I have the answer. Well, I, at least, have a theory.

It begins with your laundry. You carefully sort it (some of you do), put a load in the wash, then, dry it. And, at some point, you might even fold it. 'Lo and behold, as you're matching up the socks with their mates, there's at least one... maybe two or three, sometimes even four... with no mate that matches it.

What happened to those missing socks? Yes! I know it's hard to believe. They've become spare keys!

The mystery of mate-less Tupperware lids and mate-less Tupperware bottoms, however, continues to elude me.