Today Thomas and I are visiting my school friend and her son. I haven't seen her since February at Thomas' first birthday party and in honesty that is probably how frequently we have managed to keep in touch over recent years, purely because everyone's lives are so busy!
For a start I have 2 sisters (my 3rd sister lives about an hour and a half away), my parents, Simon's parents and his sister all living nearby, and we see a lot of each of them. Then we both work and I try to do Thomas friendly things like playgroup throughout the week! Add in the weekly chores like housework and food shopping that doesn't leave a lot of time for seeing friends not to mention that your friends are just as busy and it seems nearly impossible! But rather than give them up completely (which would be far too sad!) I try and see everybody as and when I can!
I have my closest friends that I see every week, whether it be meeting up for dinner or just popping in for a cup of tea after work and then we text, Facebook etc regularly as well. Then I have my Mummy friends, this is a group of us that all had babies within a year of each other. I was already friends with one of the Mummies and she knew each of us individually so she started a M&B (Mother & Baby) group that get together once a week. I can't always go as I sometimes have customer's booked in but I do go when I can because it is great for Thomas as he gets to play and interact with the other children and good for me as I get a good old chat with the Mummies!! We also have Simon's 3 best friends that we see regularly, mainly at the weekends in the evenings as most of them work Monday to Friday, office hours. I am very lucky as I get on really well with all of the wives and consider them my friends in their own right.
So that is everyone that I manage to see on a regular(ish) basis. But what about my school friends, people I have previously worked with, met at clubs etc? These are the people who I end up seeing only every once in a while, but it still works for me. I try and keep in touch and keep up with any news via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram - which is my new favourite thing - and try to see everybody as often as possible.
For me it is very important to keep in touch with all these people, even if we only get together once every two to three months. After all we connected and got on well to begin with for a reason so it is nice to keep them all in my life! It may be meeting up for a lunch in someone's break from work, or popping in for a cup if tea in the evening, taking the children out for the day or a girls night out. As I am self employed and at home with Thomas a lot I do try and fit in with my friend's lives as they have less flexibility with their free time.
Its a good thing to remember not to get uptight if someone hasn't text you back right away or sent you a message on FB, we are all guilty of forgetting a response or taking our time at some point, well I know I am any way!
How do you keep in touch with all your friends? Do you have any tips on how to manage my time and not leave it so long between catch ups? x
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