Question for the guys

I guess it depends on what you mean by "very close to" and "forget". But in general, if I have been "very close to" someone at some point in my life, I don't see how it is possible to totally forget about them, unless I get Alzheimer's or something like that.

I wonder why you are asking the question. If you part ways with someone, why does it matter whether they continue to think of you or not?

If someone you are close to has announced that he is going to move to a far-away place, and hasn't discussed what will happen after that, then it would seem he is expecting the "close" relationship to end.

"Hmm. I keep re-reading my original post to see where I actually said any of that. Why do YOU make that statement?"

Well, as you said, "I’m being purposefully vague." So I had to guess at what you are really asking about, in order to provide a hopefully useful answer. That's why I made "that statement" (by which I'm - again - guessing you mean the third paragraph of my reply).

Whether I would "forget" someone depends on the nature of the relationship and how close it was, and on what you mean by "forget". As an example of someone I "forgot" (not completely, obviously, since I'm writing about her now), there was a woman I dated for a year or so, about 40 years ago. After she ended the relationship, I cried a bit, but didn't attempt to make any more contact with her, and I haven't seen her since a few months after the breakup.

Last night, when I first saw your question, I tried to remember all the women I've dated more than once. I didn't remember her. This morning, when I thought about the question again, I did remember her. I remember her name, what she looked like, how we first met, and various other memories of our dates. So, did I "forget" her? Not completely. Was I "close" to her? I found it pleasant to hang out with her, but I didn't have a strong physical attraction to her. We never even kissed. So perhaps it was a "just friends" relationship.

When I wrote my previous answer, I missed this: "this is someone who is important to me for other reasons and I’d just like to remain friends. It’s not about me so much as just staying in touch."

Since the title of this thread is "Question for the guys" I'd guess that this "someone" is a guy and you are wondering whether and for how long he would continue to stay in touch with you. You can probably get a better answer by asking him than by asking the rest of us!

...which again makes me wonder why you are asking the question of us.

If you and I were close and you asked me if I would ever forget you, the answer would be "no." If you asked if we could stay in touch, I would say, "As long as neither of us is in a relationship that we care about, sure, why not? But if either one of us gets in a relationship that we care about keeping, we should probably break off the communication. Continued communication could provoke jealousy in the relationship, and I wouldn't want to risk that, for either of us." (So I agree with @windsister and @workingonit about that.)

I'm going to go with "never." I can't say I remember every detail, but I remember every girlfriend.

I remember a lot people from my past. Some were good tome and some weren't.

I moved across the country almost 50 years ago and still wonder how some people are doing. I have no way of knowing where they live and the women usually have a different last name so that makes knowing what they are doing even more difficult.

I did contact one guy friend from long ago but our lives are so different now, we have very little in common. I still communicate with two families I was friends with the boys at the time. Some have died so even though I can not contact them, I still remember some of the things we did together.

So far, everyone from the past has a different life style, kids and local situations have changed a lot, so the connections are much weaker now compared to when were one-on-one doing things together.

I have never forgotten anyone to whom I was ever close.

We finally met up for lunch yesterday. Rather unexpectedly; he was in the neighborhood.

I was beyond nervous, for some reason. My heart began RACING as I made my way out into the hallway. I couldn’t tell whether he was nervous but in hindsight... maybe? Kept checking his phone. Almost. The. Entire. Time. Blamed work. Kept saying “Sorry”.

We caught up. We’ve each had some struggles in our personal life. We took the long way back in the car. At one point I said, “I just wanted to hang out again; I didn’t really care what we did”. I’d gladly sit and read the dictionary with this person, whom I consider to be a good friend.

Afterward, I texted, “I missed the fuck out of you!” He replied “I missed you too.”

I also DID meet up with a woman from Bumble BFF! She’s around my age, single (her ex-boyfriend was a narcissist), highly intelligent and very, VERY talkative, which I need. We’ve had a few “friend dates” now and things are going well!

I could never forget someone I was very close to. I just hope that he wouldn't forget me.