by Joshua Murphy

Created on: September 02, 2008

WE CAN STILL BE FRIENDS, RIGHT? I am no different from you, no better, no worse; the point here is that there is nothing special about me, my ex-girlfriend, or our relationship. It was status quo and standard operating procedure under the amicable breakup chapter of the dating handbook. You know, the one everyone skips over because who the hell wants to read about some nice breakup where everyone gets along and you both are happier now and everything worked out for the best in the end, and oh what a learning experience it all was and now you are both in better places in your respective lives and can take that shared growth and use it to foster a new relationship that will be even better than the previous one and maybe even be THE one.

And of course who knows better than your ex-girlfriend what type of girl is right for you and who knows her better than you do? She can set you up and maybe vice-versa and you will both be so happy for one another and maybe even go out on double dates together with your new loves and joke about how funny and ironic the whole situation is and how totally strange it would be had you and your original girlfriend gotten married or had a kid together or something-oh my gosh it would have been like a sitcom. It would've been the worst and you would have just fought all the time and now you get along so well that when you fight with your new girlfriend your ex is the first one you call and she always gives the best advice and...oh shit, you still love her.

You see where I'm going with this. There is a reason that once the breakup and all the subsequent mushroom-cloud drama disperses and personal items are returned and the rebound hookups dry up that you're better off just losing her number and wishing her good luck so that when you do eventually run into her it will be slightly less awkward and when you see one of her friends at a social event you won't have to quickly look down and pretend you have just run low on your cocktail or you just didn't recognize her with that new hairstyle. I've been there and so have you. Like I said, there's nothing special about me, my ex-girlfriend, or our breakup.

The fact is that where strong feelings once existed overtly, they have not entirely subsided, but rather lay dormant under your facade of bravado and busyness, waiting to erupt or fester internally until you acknowledge them and sort through them like the myriad of photos you should be burning and not storing on your computer under some secret

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