I put a stop to "baby talk" with my ex. Again. We have to do this every so often. We'll put a stop to it, and then little by little find it creeping up on us. The little animal nicknames we call each other. The special language we use. Being able to say what we mean without even using complete thoughts, let alone sentences.

For the past nine months, the ex and I have been walking the fine line between being friends and wondering why the hell we still talk to each other. The baby talk discussion always seems to end with a chat about "well, where do we stand now?"

Part of me always wants to answer, "Basically the same place, but without the baby talk." But it's never that simple. Because the truth is that the ex and I might just be reallyreally good friends -- yes, totally and completely (perhaps surreally) platonic -- but the fact of the matter is, part of our friendship is still rooted in couple-world. Which is the only way we ever learned to communicate.

So without the baby talk ... we really are starting over. And asking ourselves whether we really have enough in common to continue being friends ... or if, on some level, we're using each other as an emotional crutch.

I suppose there's only one way to find out. Get rid of the emotional crutches and see what happens.