Advice for the Rebel
You gotta feel for the rebel. He just broke up with his long-time girlfriend and that's gotta suck. To me, when you get to around the 5 year mark in a relationship (or maybe earlier) you've started thinking about longer term plans, etc. Now it's sorta like starting from scratch on "the rest of your life". Or at least it seems like it for a bit. Or maybe not, but still no matter what side of the breakup you're on, there's that vacuum there where there used to be your "media naranja" - that's a Spanish expression which means literally "the other half of your orange", not sure how to translate it but you get the idea... (I've always liked it).
Here's some (probably unwanted) advice Mike: 1) don't go get drunk. 2) don't get into another relationship right away 3) don't badmouth your ex to friends/family because you never know if you'll get back together 4) don't try to "forget" about her 5) if you're on the receiving end, don't stop eating/sleeping/showering/working etc. 6) don't call her 7) don't freak out if she calls you 8) don't be petty 9) don't think you can "be friends" 10) don't analyze, you'll need 2 years to get a clear view of the situation 11) don't feel accusing or guilty - all breakups are "no-fault" 12) don't listen to advice from friends/family/random bloggers.
I could go on... oof. If there's a mistake to be made in a relationship (or before, or after) I've made it. Thank god Ana puts up with me.
-Russ