http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/mimi/54 I read an AP article the other day about friendships in the United States. It seems that among the general population, our circles of friends are getting smaller. I find in my own life that this is definitely true. As the article pointed out, even with technologies such as email, webphones, chat and pc cameras, people still aren't making the connections. For one thing, people just seem to be too busy. How many times have I made a lunch date or playday for my child, only to have someone tell me they were too busy and forgot or something came up. Between church activities, family get-togethers, extracurricular activities for the kids and holidays, when is there time to sit down and have a cup of coffee with a friend? Living in a household where my husband and I both work, I can completely understand a world where there simply is no time. But I have the lure of technology when I'm not doing what &quot;needs&quot; to be done. It's easy to go sit at the computer and write an email. It's easy to go play a game on Pogo and chat with a faceless, fake-named entity. But then what happens to our friendships? They can be formed or even maintained via the internet, but what has happened to the human side of it? I cannot see my friend laugh through an email. I can't hug my sister who may or may not be crying - I would never know. My circle of friends primarily consists of those in my home and though this can be seen as a very good thing, it's also scary. What about when my kids go away? What if I lost my best-friend, husband? This is a great reminder for me to widen my circle of friends... to decide the laundry could wait one more day if it meant I could sit with a friend and laugh... to leave the keyboard behind a few times and feel human... to let my friends know they are precious to me. I read an AP article the other day about friendships in the United States. It seems that among the general population, our circles of friends are getting smaller. I find in my own life that this is definitely true. As the article pointed out, even with technologies such as email, webphones, chat and pc cameras, people still aren't making the connections. For one thing, people just seem to be too busy. How many times have I made a lunch date or playday for my child, only to have someone tell me they were too busy and forgot or something came up. Between church activities, family get-togethers, extracurricular activities for the kids and holidays, when is there time to sit down and have a cup of coffee with a friend? Living in a household where my husband and I both work, I can completely understand a world where there simply is no time. But I have the lure of technology when I'm not doing what &quot;needs&quot; to be done. It's easy to go sit at the computer and write an email. It's easy to go play a game on Pogo and chat with a faceless, fake-named entity. But then what happens to our friendships? They can be formed or even maintained via the internet, but what has happened to the human side of it? I cannot see my friend laugh through an email. I can't hug my sister who may or may not be crying - I would never know. My circle of friends primarily consists of those in my home and though this can be seen as a very good thing, it's also scary. What about when my kids go away? What if I lost my best-friend, husband? This is a great reminder for me to widen my circle of friends... to decide the laundry could wait one more day if it meant I could sit with a friend and laugh... to leave the keyboard behind a few times and feel human... to let my friends know they are precious to me. en-us I agree that the world has gotten entirely too busy.&nbsp; I, too, have people in my life who I would consider to be friends whom I rarely see.&nbsp; By the time I'm done with work, get home, check in with all the litle critters, catch up with my sweetie and have dinner, I'm toast.&nbsp; And so much of the time on the weekends I'm so busy catching up on what I don't do during the week, that there seems to be little time left for play.<br /> <br /> Hey, you other busy adults out there, how do you make it work?&nbsp; How do you keep up with your friends?&nbsp; http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/mimi/54/#c_6677 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/mimi/54/#c_6677 I agree that the world has gotten entirely too busy.&nbsp; I, too, have people in my life who I would consider to be friends whom I rarely see.&nbsp; By the time I'm done with work, get home, check in with all the litle critters, catch up with my sweetie and have dinner, I'm toast.&nbsp; And so much of the time on the weekends I'm so busy catching up on what I don't do during the week, that there seems to be little time left for play.<br /> <br /> Hey, you other busy adults out there, how do you make it work?&nbsp; How do you keep up with your friends?&nbsp; Well, Mimi when i was young a long time ago we had front porches, no TV , and the BERKY Theater which would hold about 300 people, and Tehachapi only had about 400 family's total. and most  of them only had one car or walked to where they needed to go so you see you could see most of your friends on Fr iday or Saturday Night go to school with them during the week or socialize at the theater, we were a very close community most of our fathers worked at the cement plant so we all had many things in common back then, it was safe to be out late at night, and if you did something wrong everyone knew about it. and you sure wouldn't want your dad to find out he would be worse than the police department if you got into trouble.and yes we played games at night and there was very little that your parents weren't aware off not only did our mothers and fathers raise us but the community as a whole was involved, yes the more we become technological we become the less friends we have. http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/mimi/54/#c_6678 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/mimi/54/#c_6678 Well, Mimi when i was young a long time ago we had front porches, no TV , and the BERKY Theater which would hold about 300 people, and Tehachapi only had about 400 family's total. and most  of them only had one car or walked to where they needed to go so you see you could see most of your friends on Fr iday or Saturday Night go to school with them during the week or socialize at the theater, we were a very close community most of our fathers worked at the cement plant so we all had many things in common back then, it was safe to be out late at night, and if you did something wrong everyone knew about it. and you sure wouldn't want your dad to find out he would be worse than the police department if you got into trouble.and yes we played games at night and there was very little that your parents weren't aware off not only did our mothers and fathers raise us but the community as a whole was involved, yes the more we become technological we become the less friends we have. Hi Mimi, as you go thru life, it is always the same for everybody,,,,,,,,,,,you have very few real friends, but a whole lot of acquaintances, thatsw just the way it is,,,if you do find a real lifelong friend, keep in touch as much as you can,,,, http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/mimi/54/#c_6679 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/mimi/54/#c_6679 Hi Mimi, as you go thru life, it is always the same for everybody,,,,,,,,,,,you have very few real friends, but a whole lot of acquaintances, thatsw just the way it is,,,if you do find a real lifelong friend, keep in touch as much as you can,,,, Life's a garden ... dig it! http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/mimi/54/#c_6681 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/mimi/54/#c_6681 Life's a garden ... dig it! ok, &quot;mr. fixit&quot; anonymous #2, I wasn't looking for solutions when I posted this blog. It's just a view. And as for life passing me by by looking at post secret or dead man eating, those sites serve two purposes as far as I'm concerned; the first one to remind me that there are other people in the world who have similar problems as myself when my friends and family cannot understand (it is a beautiful site by the way and worth a look), and the second, to realize that there are horrors living on this earth and that I must value those I hold dear because they could be gone in one blink of an eye. I don't feel either of those is a waste of time. http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/mimi/54/#c_6682 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/mimi/54/#c_6682 ok, &quot;mr. fixit&quot; anonymous #2, I wasn't looking for solutions when I posted this blog. It's just a view. And as for life passing me by by looking at post secret or dead man eating, those sites serve two purposes as far as I'm concerned; the first one to remind me that there are other people in the world who have similar problems as myself when my friends and family cannot understand (it is a beautiful site by the way and worth a look), and the second, to realize that there are horrors living on this earth and that I must value those I hold dear because they could be gone in one blink of an eye. I don't feel either of those is a waste of time. Oh, don't worry Anon - you didn't upset me. Believe it or not, I <em>am</em> a happy person. I don't focus on negative, that's just what I choose to write about sometimes because it moves me. I realize there is much goodness in the world, but I also am wise enough never to forget the bad. To me, the negative aspects of life make the pleasurable times all that more joyous. And thanks for your suggestion of listening to the Beatles - but I happen to like Bob Dylan far more! :) http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/mimi/54/#c_6698 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/mimi/54/#c_6698 Oh, don't worry Anon - you didn't upset me. Believe it or not, I <em>am</em> a happy person. I don't focus on negative, that's just what I choose to write about sometimes because it moves me. I realize there is much goodness in the world, but I also am wise enough never to forget the bad. To me, the negative aspects of life make the pleasurable times all that more joyous. And thanks for your suggestion of listening to the Beatles - but I happen to like Bob Dylan far more! :)