Maintaining friendship

Best friends require one-on-one contact to survive. Telephone calls and getting together are musts for best friends to continue.
In fact, probably the quickest way to end a friendship is to neglect it and sever contact.

Yet it is hard to make time in a busy day and busy life to maintain our friends. But you don't have to have hours to spare to maintain a friendship.

Instead try the following to keep from neglecting your friends:

• Send frequent email. Email is a boon for a quick note.

• Call once a week. Telephone calls do not take long.

• Keep in touch through brief messages left on answering machines.

• Send an occasional card. Funny and/or appropriate cards take minutes to
choose and address.

• Exercise together. We all have to exercise. It is more fun with a friend,
plus, there is no better place for talking than a walk in the park.

• Clean house together. This is another must do and two makes cleaning fun
instead of boring.

• Send pictures. A picture is still worth a thousand words.

• Go to lunch at least once a month. More often would be better.

Follow the advice of Victoria Rayner, author of The Survival Guide for
Today's Career Woman:

• Be a good listener; refrain from offering advice or moralizing.

• Respect your friend's point of view. Different personalities can complement
each other; it isn't always necessary to see eye to eye.

• Never betray a trust. Trust, when violated, can ruin even the best
friendship.

• Support and praise your friends; ignore their failures and imperfections.

• Never resent a friend's success. Instead, strive to admire her
achievements.

Flexibility is always important for maintaining friendships. Be understanding when your friend has a last minute change in plans. Learn to accept "I'm sorry to cancel, but we will have another time together Sunday."