Hi W.G. Thanks for understanding. It becomes a case of such extremes. When I'm on her friend list, she practically wants to move in with me. Honestly, she gets more than a bit clingy. Then, when I've fallen out of favor with her, literally months can go by where I hear nothing from her. I've taken this roller coaster ride a few times. That's part of what I'm uncertain about. I don't want a ticket for another ride, but I don't feel ready to turn permanently cold on her when she eventually contacts me again - if she does.

I've thought of calling her, but I don't want to set myself up to be talked to harshly or coldly. She can be really aloof and cold in her manner, when she feels she has a grievance. She's capable of being very stuck up, snubbing and hurtful. I don't feel like being the recipient of that kind of treatment. I actually believe she has some emotional problems that drive this unstable behavior, and I have some sympathy for her as a somewhat troubled person.

As for Christmas, I'm okay with being mostly on my own. I simply will not be in a social setting with others who are not fully (3 shot) vaccinated. I didn't blurt it out that plainly to her. Maybe I should have? I tried my best to be tactful. She seems to have taken offence. Maybe I didn't express my concern in the best way, but I was trying to. With some people, I find I just can't walk on the eggshells lightly enough to avoid setting them off. I'm starting to think that relationships like that are not worth the toll they take on my peace of mind.

So, anyway, I'll make a nice ham dinner for Christmas. And I'll enjoy it. The prospect of being alone does not bother me much. I'm far from family, but we are in pretty close touch. When I feel it's safer to fly, I'll go visit my relatives. I've already got presents from them under my tree.

If the past is any clue to the future, I'll probably eventually get a phone call from this friend. Probably after the holidays. It could be months from now. I'm not sure how I want to react . . . not that I have to decide now. This isn't an isolated occurrence. It's part of a pattern. This person used to often tell me that she had hung up on some acquaintance who was on the phone with her. She'ld say, "I didn't like what so-and-so said, so I just hung up on her." She would do this to friends, who somehow tolerated it. Then, years ago, she did it to me more than once. When she eventually called back, I said, "If you ever hang up in my ear again, don't ever bother calling back." I meant it. I told her it was the same as telling someone: "Eff you!" I believe that. To claim to be someone's friend . . . and then to be that coldly dismissive of them . . . is just beyond what I can make sense of. After that, she never hung up in my ear again.

Friends can have the occasional falling out, and rifts can be repaired. But some behavior just feels demeaning. Maybe I'm over-thinking this.