My Circle of Friends

In the past month, I have realized that my circle of friends has narrowed significantly in the past year. I was talking to my mom about it about two weeks ago and she said that this is normal. According to my very wise mom, as you grow older you tighten up your core of friends into those few people that you would call "if shit jumps off" (my words, not my mom's). I guess shit jumping off can range from a breakup with a significant other to more major things like a death in the family or a debilitating disease. In thinking about this, I can count on one hand the people who I would call to bolster me in a time of need. I used to be on the phone all the time, now I really don't talk to very many people other than the Sensation and my parents. The core folks usually hear from me once a week or so. Now I'm sure part of this is due to email. I think I may have replaced my phone time with email time. I'm at work all day and I am extremely bored so I email friends about what is going on with them instead of talking on the phone. Sitting in a room full of people isn't conducive to talking. It is interesting because I don't particularly miss having a million people to talk to everyday, I'm just very interested in the phenomenon of the changes in one's core of friends. I guess this is all a part of getting older. You see things about yourself and in others that alter your perception of them which in turn, alters your friendship. Interesting.