‘This reminds me of an episode of How I met Your Mother’ – Mrs V on more than one occasion.
You could replace How I met Your Mother with Seinfeld or Friends, but the principle is the same, a lot of life’s situations are often reflected in the humour of long running comedy shows. In this case I’m thinking of the episode ‘Drunk Train’ in which Lily and Marshall tell the group the key to a successful relationship is not keeping score.
I’m lucky that when it comes to arguments I’m pretty good. I have a competitive streak that skews the flight/fight response to all out war when it comes to a discussion or disagreement that means I go straight for what I want to say right away.
The occasions when I have regrets about things not said are so rare that I don’t even recall if there are any. It’s like asking me to talk about a time I was wrong. It just doesn’t happen. Being a big believer in attack being the best form of defence the idea of a perfect comeback suggests that you were not winning the battle.
The worst part of breaking up is thinking of what you could have said, that final comeback that would land the killer blow. to utter it you would need to reconnect and therefore break the number one rule of breakups, being the first to say something.
I’ve been in the situation where a friendship has collapsed and finished with a “have a good life” while being, what I felt, was the injured party. Every so often I wish I’d said what I’d felt or just took a pot shot. It may have made me feel better at the time but would it have sat as well over time?
Viva Ergo Sum 