Research shows friendships change over time, often without conflict, as our social circles evolve.

A friendship doesn’t have to last forever for its memories to remain meaningful.

You can hold space for the past without reopening the door, allowing gratitude and boundaries to coexist.

Do you have photos from your past that you scroll past a little too quickly? A college roommate who stopped returning texts? A friend who landed on the other side of a political divide and made sure you knew it? Someone who simply vanished, with no explanation and no forwarding address for your emotions?

If so, you’re in good company. And I have a surprisingly low-tech suggestion to ease the ache these situations can sometimes cause—well, let’s say medium-tech.

Last Christmas, I received a digital picture frame. It took me until roughly spring to set it up. That was partly because the instructions seemed translated from a language not yet invented, and partly because of something I didn’t expect: hesitation.

As I loaded decades' worth of photos, I found myself stopping on certain faces. These were people I no longer speak to. Some I had to step away from. Some stepped away from me. Some left without a word. Several of them stood beside me at my wedding, which made for an interesting—and unexpectedly emotional—slideshow.

My first instinct was to quietly delete certain photos and curate the past to match the present. Then I paused long enough to ask myself: Does the fact that someone isn’t in my life now........

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