Closure

Remember the episode of Sex and the City (Season 2, Episode 18 – “Ex and the City” to be precise) where Carrie reaches out to Mr. Big for some sort of closure and maintain a semblance of friendship? There was a whole awkward phone conversation and agreeing to meet for lunch. Lunch was awkward until drinks arrived, and became awkward again as soon as Big let Carrie know he was serious about Natasha and they were engaged.

This entire episode spoke to me on different levels. I too have had the awkward phone conversation where you try to talk about totally mundane topics when previous calls were actually spicier in nature, pretending the whole time that this is normal. I’ve had the random run-ins where you have no idea what to say except a quick “hey” or “hello” and move on. Inside you are maybe wishing for more but outside you cannot go there – wrong place/wrong time for a profound conversation, nosy folks, etc. And I have had some longer conversations that were still on the superficial side but maybe lasted a little longer due to content. Ok in my specific instance I’ve had all three of these happen once.

Why do we seek this out? Why do we feel the need to have that “one last conversation”? What do we hope to accomplish – a definite period at the end of the sentence, or are we wondering if there is still some unfinished business there that we need to attend to? That last one is a slippery slope and one that should be approached very carefully, because decisions that are made in this mind frame can have long-lasting repercussions. Do you really think that you can go back and pick up where you left off? Some things are better left alone, and unsaid.