Disillusionment

Though it's at first tough to be confronted by a facade falling away to reveal the true (and in this case unpleasant) nature of a person, place or idea, ultimately it's rewarding. At the most basic level, the least that will come out of a situation like that is that you will be unlikely to repeat the steps that took you to that place.

For me, I believe that I will start with approaching work-related friendships with a bit more reserve. I found myself inadvertently in the middle of an unfortunate situation in the workplace due to a friendship I'd been cultivating for over two years. The fact that the friendship had survived one of us changing jobs had indicated to me that it may evolve; however, that does not now seem to be the case. The disillusionment came in the form of an epiphany that my friend was NOT going to be changing behaviors that were detrimental to her health and the health of her children, no matter how much she spoke with me about WANTING to change.

I admit to being a bit slow to change negative patterns in my own life and certainly some decisions to change are more difficult than others. This being a matter involving children, I felt that more expedient attention should be given in this case - at least, that is how I myself would have wished to handle it.

While I hate to see a friendship die, I am learning the value of letting those that have ceased to be of value to both parties go into the dust so that new friendships can be birthed in their place. I wish my friend well and while I imagine I may hear from her from time to time, I do not forsee us being able to return to where we once were.