How to stay friends with an ex

It’s a multi-step process, actually.  I’ll divide it into Before, During, After, and Throughout.

Before

• Be friends.  Let simmer for at least three months, but ideally six.
• Treat your friends and their friends well.
• Sprinkle good experiences throughout.

During

• Don’t cheat.
• Don’t lie.
• Don’t steal.
• Don’t abuse physically/mentally.
• Say what you mean, mean what you say.
• Don’t leave any feelings of hurt linger.

After

• Break up amicably and don’t backslide.
• Don’t move on until at least enough time has passed that they don’t feel used and devalued.
• Don’t ask them for help with a new relationship unless it has been at least half-the-length of your relationship since they have moved on.
• Don’t behave in
• Don’t drunk dial.
• Give them time to move on in their own way.

Throughout

• Enjoy each other’s company
• Admit responsibility where it is due
• Be honest and trustworthy.
• Be a worthwhile person.

If you do each step well and at the right time, then it will happen naturally.  If you fail, you should probably make do with whatever other friends you do have.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 15th, 2010 at 18:00 and is filed under top lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.