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" We, social beings by nature, depend on friends to be a touchstone for our lives, says Eliane Zelley, PhD, a professor of communcation at La Salle University in Philadelphia, who has studied female friendships. &amp;quot;Friends provide a social network, companionship and emotional support,&amp;quot; she says, which is why even when the friendship pool seems shallow or there&amp;#039;s just not enough time to swim, it&amp;#039;s important to get out there and reconnect. Here are a few ways to work them into your schedule, and your schedule into them.   Take advantage of kids&amp;#039; classes Are your and your pal&amp;#039;s daughters in the same dance class? Instead of dropping off the kids and heading home, suggest that you two have coffee or go shoe shopping for that hour. Or, meet a friend at her kid&amp;#039;s soccer practice.   Share chores If you both have a yardful of leaves to rake or a garden to weed, spend an hour or so at her house, then yours.   Use technology to your advantage Borrow a page from your tween and send a text: &amp;quot;going 2 store\u2014need anything?&amp;quot; &amp;quot;see Idol last nite?&amp;quot; And tech can go beyond texting and e-mailing. If you have a friend in another state who&amp;#039;s started a blog or has a photo-sharing account, ask for the address and bookmark it; reading her news and seeing photos of her kids will help you feel closer.   Call, with a purpose &amp;quot;I have a friend I&amp;#039;ve known for 15 years who moved away. We see each other during the summer, but that&amp;#039;s not enough, so we set a weekly date for a sort of book club over the phone,&amp;quot; says Dianne Murphy, 44, from Leesburg, Virginia. &amp;quot;We find ourselves talking much more than ever before.&amp;quot; Borrow the book club idea, or just set a phone date. And get over guilt if you&amp;#039;ve let time drag between calls. Instead of making excuses, just say, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m so bad at remembering to call, but I want you to know that I&amp;#039;m thinking about you.&amp;quot;   Double up to work out &amp;quot;My friend Susan and I take a power walk every Saturday at 8 a.m., and have since 2001,&amp;quot; says Janet Falk, a 55-year-old Manhattanite. &amp;quot;I walk to her house, and we head to a nearby park. We walk at a quick pace and discuss our week, our jobs, our daughters,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;We figure out how to solve the world&amp;#039;s problems, then we&amp;#039;re done by 9.&amp;quot;   Send snail mail Everyone likes a piece of mail that&amp;#039;s not a bill or a credit card solicitation. Keep a couple of stamped envelopes and blank cards in your bag, and jot a note to a faraway friend while you&amp;#039;re in line at the bank or sitting in a doctor&amp;#039;s waiting room. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/relationships/family-friends/tips/a2986/6-ways-to-work-in-friend-time-19696/>