Answer to a former classmate. Did I do right?

[Sylvain-]

As a follow-up of a conversation posted 19 days ago here: healthunlocked.com/anxiety-...

I was contacted through LinkedIn by a former school friend with a possible job opportunity. I will not repeat all the details given in the aforementioned post. In short, I am 51, and my career was a total failure. That is a key component of major depression. I am also ashamed of my failures, especially compared to how successful my classmates were. I didn't know what to answer—and decided initially NOT to answer. Finally, as it kept spinning in my head, I finally responded today with the following message (I paste here an automatic translation from French):

"""

Hello John.

Apologies for the late response and thanks for thinking of me, but I must decline.

Due to transfers, I finally ended up in SomeCity in French Britain a few years ago, and now health problems keep me mostly stuck at home.

I have seen that in recent years you have held exciting positions (notably at SomeCompany). Congratulations.

I'm also taking this opportunity to present to you my (just as late) wishes for this year.

Sincerely,

--- Sylvain

"""

Now, I wonder if I made the right decision by answering as I don't want to start a conversation. I might better have to keep silent as I mostly prefer to disappear. Your opinion?

[Dolphin14]

I think you handled it well.

🐬

[Sylvain- in reply to Dolphin14]

Thanks.

[LoveforAll41]

I think that you handled it well too. You can always not respond to the next message if there is another one. I would suspect that another response would be easy to ignore since you did not ask any questions or ask for follow up in any other way. I wish you peace☮️

[Sylvain- in reply to LoveforAll41]

Thanks.