Friendship on the Rocks: Weigh Past vs Present

0:00On May 1st, a listener's got a 50-year friendship on the rocks. This old pal, once kind and fun, has turned self-absorbed, always centering her health woes while ignoring everyone else's. She's demanding, petulant, even got the narcissist label floating around their circle. The writer has dialed back time, spent together, to keep the peace, biting their tongue to dodge her tantrums. But mutual friends who don't know her are pushing for a full cutoff, saying it's toxic. Being is, dropping her would crush her, and she won't own up to her role in the drama. The writer feels stuck, between loyalty to the past and frustration with the now. Advice columnist Elinor Gordon Smith nails it. Long bonds carry weight from shared history, tinting today's gripes with patience. Don't ghost unless she's seriously wrong someone. Keep a light touch if it's bearable, honoring good times or hoping for change. But if it's just pity holding you, that's not real friendship. Aristotle had it right, equals only.

1:00Way the past against the present, and decide if that thread's worth the weave.