While not all relationships will last, that does not necessarily mean that every relationship that ends was a bad one.
Sometimes we walk away with some lovely memories of our ex-partners, and even mementos and gifts we'd rather keep than burn.
Redditor ChronicallyCautious2 asked:
"What is something an ex gave you that you still have?"
A Grand Piano
"A f**king 800-pound piano and I don't play and it's in the way."
"Does anyone want a free piano?"
- Zongohhhh
Love for a Teddy Bear
"She sewed a sweater for my childhood teddy bear, because the one he originally had was lost in the laundry."
"There is no way I would ever get rid of that."
- Helferlein_
A Comfy Bed
"A pillow case she quilted for me. That was 40 years ago and I still have it."
- GreedyNovel
Kids and Guitars
"A 1976 Black Ibanez Les Paul Custom Copy and a kid."
- BeatnikConspiracy
"Which do you love more?"
"Just kidding. I would never make you choose... but I notice you wrote the guitar first."
- persondude27
A Quality Coach Wallet
"I still have a great wallet from... 14 years ago... that my ex gave me. Probably the only thoughtful thing she ever did."
- LargeSnorlax
The Best Gift of All
"My ex wife was a big part of me getting off drugs and alcohol, so to me she gave me sobriety."
- Tawebuse
A Lovely Pick-Me-Up
"This birthday card... It was just very sweet and well written. We broke up on great terms but I read that card when I’m down."
- chenganvegan
"I just found an old birthday card from an ex in an old pile of papers last night. You can feel how true those words were meant at the time. Such weird sensation of melancholy appreciation."
- cripplinglivershot
Love on Paper
"Amazing love letters. She was a beautiful writer (and person!) I haven’t looked at them in a long time but I like that I have them as proof that I could be loved like that."
- aebersold
A Promise Necklace
"In 1972, a boy gave me a Saint Christopher necklace. I did not know it at the time but later found out that it meant we are going steady."
"We were a couple for a few months until he tried to kiss me, and I got scared and broke up with him. I tried giving him the necklace back but he insisted I keep it."
"I still have it, it's traveled all over with me, and it's kept me safe."
- Granny_knows_best
An Old Friend
"A stuffed animal. Only because I can't find it in me AT ALL to throw away a stuffed animal. It has feelings!"
- Odd-Faithlessness705
An Unplayable Guitar
"A beautiful guitar I never learned to play."
"I gave it to my son and he's keeping the tradition alive. By not learning either."
- never_mind_never
School Smarts
"Weirdly enough, academic confidence. She's the one that pushed me to go back to college after I dropped out, and now that I think about it, that might have been one of the last conversations we had."
"The short version of the story is of her telling me to stop f**king around and apply myself because she knew I was intelligent enough but I was lazy. I've graduated twice since then."
- awkwardlyexists
The Embodiment of a Red Flag
"The knowledge of what red flags look like."
- Sodomy_Steve
PTSD
"It kills me, to be honest. I didn’t know betrayals could hurt so much."
"I have other issues from my parents, but the betrayals, abuses, and infidelities from my ex-husband have destroyed so much in me. Because when we married, wasn’t that a promise he wouldn’t be that person? I couldn’t pick my parents. But I chose my husband."
- punkyfish10
A Beautiful Dress
"The dress she was wearing when I met her."
"We dated for three years, and when we broke up, I was heartbroken further to see that, in the bag of clothes she was gonna donate, was that dress. She looked radiant in it that day, and I wasn't entirely ready to let go."
"Unbeknownst to her, I took the dress from the bag and hid it away as a memento. We stopped talking for three years. There were instances in the early stages of grief where I would look at it and cry, but I wanted to remember her for the good times we shared together."
"Fast forward to a couple of years ago, and she reaches out to apologize. By then, I was obviously long over her. It was a clean and honest breakup, so I told her there was nothing to apologize for."
"We hung out at my place one day, and somewhere in a conversation about our past relationship, I pull out the dress to reveal to her that I kept it. The look of surprise on her face, man... and she almost began crying as she hugged me."
"Later that day, she told me that she told her cousin about how I kept the dress. This particular cousin didn't like me, so when my ex said she 'awwwed' at it and said that I was a sweet guy, that felt nice. She (my ex) and I hang out and send each other memes every now and then."
"I love this girl to death (platonically!), and would fight tooth and nail for her safety and well-being. She deserves to live a good life."
"Cheers to the folks who ended things on good terms. And an extra beer to those who couldn't."
- therealJoerangutang
When people think of ended relationships, they'll more than likely think of messy endings and broken hearts. But this group proved, more often than not, that good can come out, even at the end of a relationship.
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