KEEPING IN TOUCH

How many friends have you talked to this past week? According to recent research, six out of ten of us speak to five friends or fewer each week.

Now I have a wide circle of friends, but when I reflected back on the week, I wasn’t much over the five, which at first surprised me, as I have always prided myself in my ability to keep in touch. In fact, when I did a head-count on last week, I also realized that my “score” went up because we had a Company of Women meeting – as many of the women who attend have become friends. That’s the good news. The bad news, is that without that dinner, I would hardly have racked up any contacts with friends
at all.

Food for thought. These days, a quick email is taking the place of conversations over coffee or a chat on the phone. And it’s not the same. You don’t always accurately pick up the nuances in an email, in fact, you can get it all wrong and read too much into a statement or comment.

This same research found that 43 percent of us think our communities are less friendly than they were a decade ago. Clearly we need to slow down and look at what’s important. The work will always be there, but our relationships are more fluid.

Having just spent the evening with some long- time friends, it felt good to laugh, share stories and catch up on each other’s news. Make sure you’re not missing out on the fun and laughter that friendships can bring. That’s what keeps us warm long after winter is over.