Ms. Beranda, with regards to your most difficult situation, I find so many thoughtful people offering so many ways of severing ties. Some harsh, some simple and classy but very difficult.
It is such an uncomfortable and painful situation and, at the risk of being a chick-sheet as MSD said, fade into black...return only every 4th or 5th call with vague "been busy" excuse and keep all convos. very short. This person should get the hint pretty quick without you having to be somewhat confrontational. Reading about how classy and tender-hearted you are, not sure if this approach is one you will choose but I have found it to be the least painful.
Good Luck and we're here for ya!
Hi Misery, gosh talk about someone needing a nickname...I'll try to think of one for ya!
Your response was simple, and maybe because I'm just avoiding the hell out of confrontation with this chick, but even though the "fade to black" originally sounded impossible, it is essentially the path I've chosen for lack of any strong motivation to do something.
The person has now exhausted all methods of contacting me, including calling my husband at work...she's a total nut job, and now even he agrees that she is not really capable of acting in moderation in the absence of my input, so chances are pretty good that anything I would say or write to her would be reacted to just with more insanity.
I tried the "I'm really busy right now, dealing with a lot" angle last year, she said she understood.
The most recent email was to inform me that my actions are unforgivable and that I shouldn't just throw away a friend who is this good."
So, the way I see it, I've already acted in unforgivable ways, discarded a friendship of invaluable measure and have caused her to feel a range of emotions from worries that I was hospitalized or dead, to furious at me for being so capable of heartless friendship discarding.
So as to not minimize her experience, I'd say I'm doing quite well at getting out of my own way and letting her grow a strong interest in cutting ME out of her life.
I keep hearing 99's words, damn man that was an amazing post by the way!!
The simple, yet true part about this is that in fact neither is a well suited friends for the other. No blame, no fault, just truth.
Thank you everyone, you have given me an amazing amount of support, for which I am so graciously thankful for.
Peace,
Beranda