Maintaining Great Friendships: It’s the Little Things

I’ve never been one to make friends easily. I kept the same core group of friends throughout my entire high school career, in fact we’re still friends today. But as life moved on and I moved away from the security of my hometown, making new friends became inevitable. Luckily, I inherited some pretty amazing friends when I landed a job at the local video store in my college town. The small staff quickly became a very close knit group of friends. Despite moves across the state and even across the country, I managed to keep two amazing girlfriends from this job and for my 21st birthday we got together to celebrate and ring in the New Year. Without going into to the sordid details they helped me ring in birthday in proper fashion.

Our relationship then was very different than it is today. It was built on things most college friendships are made of like holding each other up through late night study sessions, having someone to hold your hair back on your birthday, complaining about our part time job and who had the worst professors. It was summer bon fires, tanning on the beach and dreaming of spring breaks we could never afford to take.

These days we’re both married with kids, and we have busy jobs and hectic schedules. A few months ago, my family and I were invited to dinner in their new home. It was such a great night, having our families enjoy one another and creating more memories. I’m so thankful that ours is a friendship that easily picks up as if it never left off, even though we don’t get together as much as we would like anymore.

Making the effort to keep in touch by phone and by mail, definitely helps in maintaining the bond. In a digital world, it’s so nice to get a note or card via snail mail. Today I’m sending her a Hallmark card co-designed by Sarah Jessica Parker. Sex in the City is one of her favorite movies (we did work in a video store after all) and it’s only fitting that Sarah’s role involved making unforgettable memories with friends.

What do you do to maintain your close friendships?