...are more shallow than they appear.
The other night I was in the kitchen making dinner, and Elizabeth was in the dining room working on a school project. She paused for a moment and asked me, "Mom? Have you ever had a friend you needed, and they knew you needed them, so they could be mean to you because they knew you would never leave them?"
It took me a minute to process Elizabeth's question and I was wondering why she was asking - perhaps looking for some advice, or maybe just needing to unload? As I thought it over, I recalled an unhealthy relationship I'd had in junior high. Yeah, it was a "friend" I "needed" and she knew it. Only it wasn't really a friendship, rather she was popular and I wanted to be accepted by her so I did what she wanted and she treated me like, well, *ahem* like that, and I just took it. Because I wanted to feel accepted. And if she was paying attention to me - even if it wasn't nice - I felt accepted.
In a pathetic sort of way.
I shared my little story with Elizabeth in hopes my vulnerability might open some doors to good conversation. Perhaps help her through whatever she was facing.
When I had finished speaking she smiled and said, "Yeah. That's like me and hot glue."
Elizabeth was using hot glue for her project and was frustrated because she kept burning herself. This "friend" she needed was being mean to her, but she couldn't leave it because of her need.Uh, yeah. Not quite the deep conversation I was anticipating. *wink*
2 comments:
Not quite the deep conversation you were thinking about...but the seeds of your thoughts were planted. It's likely that Elizabeth will remember your words if there's ever a friend that treats her like your Jr High "friend" treated you.
KM - Yes, I am trusting seeds were planted. Even if not about specific friend issues, I always hope that sincere answers on my part will encourage Elizabeth to continue talking in the days to come. :)
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