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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
Anya Ryan

The festive urge to text my ex has struck – so I asked a counsellor what to do

Young couple holding gift boxes and a Christmas tree.
‘Surrounded by a sea of hand-holding couples, I might be having doubts. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to wish him a merry Christmas?’ Photograph: svetikd/Getty Images

There’s a chill in the air, but it’s not just the December cold. As inevitable as the twinkling lights or gingerbread men, an unmistakable urge is making itself known. My fingers are twitching. I’m crafting the perfect opener in my head. That’s right: I’m starting to wonder whether I should text my ex-partner.

Since the last time we saw each other, earlier this year, I have been strict with myself. I drew a solid, impassable line between us, and I was happy about it – tearing our lives apart was difficult enough without the added confusion of staying in touch. But surrounded by a sea of hand-holding couples in matching Christmas jumpers, tunes that celebrate happy twosomes and twinkling skies of fairy lights, I might be having doubts. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to wish him a merry Christmas? Check in? Catch up? Reminisce together about the good times?

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