Ask Amy: Needy teacher must learn how to read people
Dear Amy: Several years ago, my daughter had a preschool teacher she loved who was fired for, what seemed at the time, a dubious reason.
I related to her predicament, and I met up with her a couple of times in the immediate aftermath so that my daughter could see her and to talk about the situation.
I did not expect to develop a long-term friendship with her.
Since that time, she has contacted me sporadically, whenever she finds herself in a difficult emotional situation.
We are not friends, and she only contacts me when she's having an emergency. Then it's urgent, at weird times, and time-consuming. It's bizarre behavior.
She is married and has family and friends. I'm not even close enough with her to recommend that she see a therapist.
The most recent time this occurred, I hadn't heard from her in about a year.
She asked if we could meet up and I told her that I was really busy preparing for some travel, and that it would have to be scheduled for another time.
She ignored this and tried repeatedly to contact me while I was out of town. Amy, I'm a busy professional with a family to care for and my own relationships to manage.
I am not the type of person who would ever "ghost" someone, but I was never friends with this person in the first place, and she's ignoring my boundaries. Is it OK if I just ignore her?
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