Archive for January, 2012

Children of Divorce and their Friendships

Published: January 31, 2012 | Last Updated: January 31, 2012 By | 2 Replies Continue Reading

When a parent goes through a divorce, there can be friendship fallout for kids   QUESTION Dear Irene, My formerly popular 11-year old granddaughter is being shunned by her BFFs to the point that she doesn’t want to go to school (which she formerly loved). Her parents are going through a divorce, and it’s hit […]

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Friendship: The Whole Truth, Nothing but the Truth—Not Always

Published: January 28, 2012 | Last Updated: May 14, 2020 By | 10 Replies Continue Reading

Sometimes it may be kinder and easier to drift apart   QUESTION Hi Irene, I’ve been reading your blog after googling to find out if anyone else had experienced similar issues to me. After recently spending some time away with a close friend, I realize I don’t like many aspects of her personality.   She […]

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At Wit’s End: My friend lives from hand-to-mouth and I always need to bail her out

Published: January 27, 2012 | Last Updated: September 4, 2014 By | 6 Replies Continue Reading

A point can come in a friendship when you’re not only doing a disservice to yourself but also to the other person.

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Interested in Making February Your “Month of Letters?”

Published: January 26, 2012 | Last Updated: January 26, 2012 By | Reply Continue Reading

I came across an interesting idea on a publishing website called Galley Cat. Author Mary Robinette Kowal is launching The Month of Letters Challenge in February, inviting writers around the world to try to post a letter a day.   Specifically, she’s asking participants to mail one item each day during the month. It could […]

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The devastating effect of a pocket-dial on a friendship

Published: January 24, 2012 | Last Updated: January 6, 2016 By | 10 Replies Continue Reading

How do you handle overhearing something from a pocket-dial you weren’t intended to hear?

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Feeling guilty after a sudden breakup with college roommate

Published: January 24, 2012 | Last Updated: September 4, 2014 By | 3 Replies Continue Reading

While I was in college I decided to room with one of my really good friends that I had made at school. Things seemed to go great that year and I felt that we had become really close. However, near the end of that school year she suddenly left for home and refused to take my calls.

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Can you give me two minutes of your time?

Published: January 23, 2012 | Last Updated: January 23, 2012 By | 7 Replies Continue Reading

About.com is running a Reader’s Choice contest for the best friendship blog. Can you nominate The Friendship Blog?   If this blog gets a sufficient number of nominations, it will be eligible for voting and winning!   All you need to do: Put in the name of the blog: The Friendship Blog The URL: www.TheFriendshipBlog.com […]

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Too Much: Overwhelmed by a friend without boundaries

Published: January 20, 2012 | Last Updated: April 12, 2015 By | 4 Replies Continue Reading

If your friend has no boundaries, responsibility for setting them falls on you.

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8 common friendship problems and how to fix them

Published: January 19, 2012 | Last Updated: November 2, 2012 By | 157 Replies Continue Reading

It’s almost as hard to generalize about friendship problems—as it is to figure out how to solve them. Some situations may sound the same or have certain elements in common but when it comes down to the details, every friendship has a different trajectory based on a unique mix of personalities, circumstances and history.

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Taking Stock of a Friendship in Black and White

Published: January 18, 2012 | Last Updated: January 18, 2012 By | 12 Replies Continue Reading

When it comes to friendship, sometimes you just have to cut your losses   QUESTION Dear Irene, My husband and I have been friends with a married couple for approximately three years, who have many children and a multitude of different issues in their life. I have always been there for both of them and […]

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