This morning, for the first time in years, I got an email from a guy I’ll call my Significant Ex (defined as someone you’ll never forget, or someone who truly messed you up, or possibly both). It wasn’t a long email, and it was more or less necessary, since he was sending me info for a project I’m doing. But he asked how I was, and wished me well, and said that I was missed. I won’t lie: this guy did mess me up a bit way back when, and I’ll admit to some lingering resentment over that fact. So you wouldn’t think I’d be particularly moved by a few simple lines after years of radio silence.
But I was. For whatever reason, I felt genuinely touched by his simple offerings and inquiries. And that wounded bit of me healed just a little.
I guess there are always opportunities for healing broken relationships — a subject I’ve been pondering of late. I discovered new evidence last week that the other party in a damaged friendship had given up on me; and even though I initiated our Parting of the Ways a few years ago, it still made me a little sad to know that that door had closed for good.
Maybe life is just a series of people coming and going, doors opening and closing. But maybe closed doors can reopen, if and when we’re ready for them.
