Exes...

It's funny that this happened so close together... but yesterday, Eric and I were talking about exes and what being an ex means.
Today I got an e-mail from Paul, asking to me he was a friend or just an ex. So I told him that he's a friend and an ex. An ex is not a bad thing. Somehow it's gotten a bad reputation but I don't think it should have. When I talk about him, I say that he's "Paul, my ex" and that's not because I want people to know that we're no longer together, but rather that he was and still is someone special.
If I were to say just "Paul" then one wouldn't know the difference between Paul and Aaron. Paul was/is someone that is very important in my life, and Aaron was and will always be just a friend (though still important, I never was as close with him and shares as much with him as I did will Paul). Therefore, "Paul, my ex" works better. Plus an ex is someone that I hold in high respect and are actually intimidating (not my exes but other people that I care for's exes) because they are someone that someone I care for has bothered to spend part of their life with and I respect that very much.