Wonderful piece, Ali! I have been known to hang on to friendships too long.

I had one relationship where I always initiated the contact and when I reached out, she would respond cooly and ask why I didn't call/text/visit sooner. I finally told her that she could reach out to me - this wasn't a one way interaction. It felt good to stand up for myself, and the relationship kind of withered away after that. I don't miss it!