Friend is a four letter word.

It's hard. this life thing. i got a very disturbing email from someone I thought was a friend. It has made me realize yet again that the people you think you can trust may not be what you thought they were....not the person that sent the email per se.  cause I expect nothing less from him, but from his information source. Someone I have known a long time. Someone who is bound and determine to fix what they think is broken in me. Someone who doesn't understand that I am happy with my life.  If I really wanted things to change, i would get out there and make it happen. She doesn't know because she has never been where I am. She married young and has a big family. Well, I don't, and sure someday I would like to have a husband and kids...but right now...I don't. I am not tied down. I am living a life I choose. I can travel, I can sleep til 11 on the weekends. I can do what I want without having to answer to anyone but myself.  She can't understand that I don't get lonely, I don't feel sorry for myself. I enjoy my life the way it is for now. Not everyone is the same and just because I don't have the same kind of life she sees as right or "perfect", doesn't mean it isn't perfect for me. And as for the writer of the email. He likes to take the word of others instead of coming to the source first. He is scared of the hard things in life. the things that might be difficult. I will be the first to admit I am afraid of confrontation. I grew up with it and I don't care to have it in my life if unnecessary. But it comes to a point where it is necessary, because people, me included, have crappy communication skills. and trust issues. But its unavoidable. so I am struggling with a way to respond to this email, because some pretty nasty things were said. and some assumptions made based on misleading information. and I really want to come back just as nasty as I was hit. But I know that I can't. That would feed the fire and at this point I got my bucket of water and sand....and I am ready to put that fire out and cover it forever. But I have to find a way to set things straight without burning other bridges. I don't want to hurt anyone, I don't want to be nasty and I don't want to bring in anyone else that may get hurt. So there's a struggle. and it hurts almost as much as the email did. Because in this kind of thing, there isn't a right thing to do other than be honest. and that is the worst thing because that will hurt him more than anything and I care too much to hurt him. But I have to and damn that sucks.