Sound Familiar?

One day, you’re sitting at lunch and you look around at your crowd, waiting. You know that Suzie is going to complain about the guy that just dumped her, Monica will crack a joke, then Natalie will groan that she ate too much. Then, it will be your turn to tell Suzie she’ll find someone else, remind Monica to be more sensitive, and insist to Natalie that she is not fat.

But today, you feel different. You don’t want to say any of that. In fact, you want to be sitting at the lunch table right next to you where the women are discussing the latest book they just read and a trip to Cancun.

So, when it’s your turn to speak, you don’t say anything. Your friends wait – the conversation halts. It feels like there’s been a breach in rhythm in Beethoven’s Fifth and because you can’t take the confusion in the eyes of your friends, you decide to say your lines.

The Comfort Factor

There’s something to be said for comfort.

Everyone has friends that they’ve been friends with forever and that’s one of their main draws – familiarity. Most marriages eke towards that brand of love and of course, the same thing happens with your children and that’s okay.

So, embrace that part of yourself. There are friends and family members that you will never want to let go! After all, you don’t have to throw away everything in the closet to buy a new pair of shoes.

But what about those friends where the comfort has turned into agonizing boredom? Read on...

Cleaning Out the Friendship Closet

Too much clutter can make things messy. Just like friends, in order to make room for the new, you have to let go of some of the old.

"I couldn’t do that!" you say.

Inside, though, you do know that there’s at least one of your "friends" that you could live a thousand years without ever talking to again.