:::5 Minute Rule:::

Do you have any long-distance friends?  If you do, I am sure that you can agree that once people move away, even with the best of intentions, it usually means the death of a friendship. :::Dun Dun Dun::: The truth is that as you get older, it becomes more difficult to keep in touch. Am I right?!? As you start your families and your careers it just becomes harder to find the time. Sadly, this is the case, even with the people that we are really close to. The bottom line is, it becomes a chore to talk on the phone because, as much as we want to, we just can't find time to sit down for those long and involved catch-up conversations.


So, lastnight I was thinking about this after I got off the phone with Kati after our weekly phone date. How do we still keep up with our busy lives without neglecting our friends because the bottom line is that as we get older having and keeping friends just gets harder.

Well, as you know, Kati lives in Arkansas, and when she initially moved away we talked to each other as much as possible but as time passed we started drifting. The thought of having to be on the phone for hours catching up just seemed impossible. So how do you get over this?!? How about taking away the pressure and unrealistic expectations…  How do you do that you may be asking… Start by making it a known agreement that you will only talk for five minutes at a time. If the call goes longer, that's fine; but if you have to hang up (to go to work, comfort a baby, eat dinner), then it's totally cool. Not every call has to be a deep conversation. You can just ring and say, "I'm getting my haircut today, any advice?" or "What cute things are the kids doing?" and chat quickly and hang up.
Kati and I try and talk to each other at least once a day whether it be our weekly phone dates or just a quick "How ya doin?" on Facebook. The bottom line is, we make as much time as we can for each other, even if it may not be a lot but our friendship has definitely blossomed because of it.

Let me know what kind of things you and your friends have come up with to keep in touch when life gets in the way.