Thursday, April 16, 2009
This won’t be a “he said, he said” recap of one of my previous relationships. Nor will I divulge the details of how this particular relationship ended. But the story of what I did with my ex’s stuff is up for grabs.
First, a little context: We were on a “break” and it was about Christmastime.
I had bought him presents before this “break” business and they ended up sitting in my room until after New Year’s. By this time, I realized that all my relationship status needed was an “up” at the end and to call it quits.
I couldn’t bear, though, to return the gifts or use them myself. It just felt wrong for some reason.
So I trekked over to his apartment, not knowing who would be home or what I was going to say. I guess I could have always mailed them to him if I became desperate.
Luckily, his roommate and one of our mutual friends answered the door. They saw the bag filled with my ex’s belongings in my hand and figured out what was going down. The ex was gone, so I went into his room, placed the bag on his bed, and gathered my belongings.
I left with only a slight blow to my dignity. Hearing about other friends’ ex exchange stories, I was happy with how it happened. We had both walked away with physical remnants we had started the relationship with.
Check out Elliot’s story on page 5 and read about how other students have handled exchanging exes’ belongings.
A couple of months later, on the NCAA championship night, actually, the ex and I had ended up hanging out through some mutual friends. It was a tad chilly downtown that night and my tight KU shirt wasn’t cutting it. He noticed and offered his jacket. I initially refused, fearing another awkward exchange situation, but eventually gave in.
We got lost in the downtown crowds and I wore his jacket home that night. I returned it, freshly washed, within the week.
I could have kept it and avoided the situation, but I didn’t. I learned that the jacket, like the Christmas gifts, was just stuff, and stuff isn’t what makes a relationship.
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Editor's note
then what does make a relationship mr. hirschfeld?
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