The importance of friends (one of many reasons)

When people would talk about how their friends helped them get over break-ups, I used to think that that only referred to their having their friends sit down with them and comfort them and analyse every little facet of the relationship-that-was and convince them that things would be better, and maybe that it was actually a *good* thing that they had broken up with that person. And of course, in my mental image, those friends were usually female, because guys typically don't talk about such things with each other, right?

Then I had my own experiences with break-ups. And realized that there's another aspect to that statement, which doesn't involve talking about or discussing the broken relationship at all. (Or maybe this has been just my own experience.) Having friends helps you realize that you still have a life, even if the person who was the world to you (or so you felt) is no longer a part of it. There are *still* people to whom you are important, and who care about you, and who like being around/with you.

All the more reason to not ignore or forget about your friends when you are in a relationship. Which, I know, is an easy rut to fall into, because you're so taken up with this one person that you want to spend every waking moment with them, to the exclusion of every- and anyone else, but you have to get a grip on yourself and do it.

To all my friends, who never forgot about me when I forgot about them, and/or who helped me realize that I still had a life --- thank you. You may not have realized that you were helping me, but you were.