From the earliest days, we have all had friendships... some short term, some long term.
The question comes from our own experience. The older we get, the fewer contacts we have with those who were our closest friends. Year by year, a natural loss of those who have passed away (we're 83), but statistically, about half of those with whom we have lived in our retirement, are still alive. In just the last 30 years since we retired, we have lived in five different social circle communities, plus the previous 50 years of living... schools, workplaces etc.
As close as we were, with perhaps several hundred or more friends, the number of people with whom we maintain more than a once a year email has dwindled to a few dozen.
Of course we have many, many new friends in our current location, but virtually no contacts with primary and secondary school friends, just a few college friends and almost none from the 20+ moves since marriage.
It's definitely a factor of age, as even into our early 70's there were many cards and emails.
Wondering what your experience is... and the effect of distance and age has had on the the number of "friends" with whom you still have some degree of contact.
The question comes from our own experience. The older we get, the fewer contacts we have with those who were our closest friends. Year by year, a natural loss of those who have passed away (we're 83), but statistically, about half of those with whom we have lived in our retirement, are still alive. In just the last 30 years since we retired, we have lived in five different social circle communities, plus the previous 50 years of living... schools, workplaces etc.
As close as we were, with perhaps several hundred or more friends, the number of people with whom we maintain more than a once a year email has dwindled to a few dozen.
Of course we have many, many new friends in our current location, but virtually no contacts with primary and secondary school friends, just a few college friends and almost none from the 20+ moves since marriage.
It's definitely a factor of age, as even into our early 70's there were many cards and emails.
Wondering what your experience is... and the effect of distance and age has had on the the number of "friends" with whom you still have some degree of contact.