While usually a fan a mash-up words, "frenemy" isn't one that I like. Friend + enemy = unnecessary drama. This week on "The Satisfied Life" (http://www.thesatisfiedlifenetwork.com/templates/System/default.asp?id=31327) we interview Susan Shapiro Barash (http://susanshapirobarash.com/content/index.asp), the author of a book called Toxic Friends. She finds that 65% of women remain friends with someone who is difficult on some level.
Thanks to moves from New Jersey (http://www.co.somerset.nj.us/) to Pennsylvania to Ohio to Indiana (http://www.wtlc.com/home.asp) toVirginia and the Carolinas there are lots of friends who I miss. Distance, family and career demands.... there are so many reasons why we've lost contact. I'd never had an official friend break-up until last year. Frankly, I didn't even know pals did such a thing, but I thank her for pulling the trigger. Damaging friendships are just that... DAMAGING!!!! They rob you of the true joys of having a good friend. When you can't confide in a friend for fear of your confession coming back to bite you... when you can't celebrate an accomplishment for fear of jealousy.... when friendship turns into a power struggle or an energy drain of epic proportions, then it might be time to say good-bye.
I've moved enough to learn that new friends are out there. They're hoping you'll ask them to meet for brunch after church. They hope you'll join their club (http://www.gfwcnc.org/), invite them to become an exercise buddy or just stop by with coffee and muffins. Just because you've been friends since Madonna's first hit, doesn't mean you have to put up with a frenemy (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=frenemy). I've been blessed with some chicks (and a few guys) who've taught me how to be a better friend. Give me a new true friend over a toxic old friend any day of the week.
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