ARE FRIENDSHIPS NECESSARY AT A PARTICULAR AGE?

I am always accused of being anti-people due to my lack of not making an effort to forge friendships. I've always been a person who keeps to herself, but had managed to have friends when still at school as well as varsity. After the birth of my son, i found myself drifting away from already existing friendships. Everything seemed unimportant to me if it did not revolve around me being a parent. I guess my friends at the time could not identify with the new me.  Let me try and unpack my week for you so that you understand why i've become "anti-social".

Sunday - the family goes to church, after church i cook a decent meal for the family. By the time we finish our meal it is like late afternoon. thereafter i prepare my son's lunchbox and make sure there are no outstanding school issues from the previous week.
Monday-Friday-I leave the house at six in the morning, only to arrive back home in the evening. some evenings i have to fetch my son from his extramurals which take place in the evening. My husband drops him at the extra-murals because he works a little bit closer to our home (compared to me anyway). My son has some learning diffiuclties due to ADHD, so we have to actively assist him with his homework. Hubby and I alternate with that. While that is taking place, I have to prepare dinner and tend to my 4 year old daughter at the same time; prepare for the following day and the routine goes on.

This does not exhaust everything that occupies me, but try to imagine where i am supposed to fit time for phone calls to "friends", talking about nothing in particular, or drinks out with the "girls".  The free time we get, my husband and I make sure that we use it for ourselves (go eat, movies or whatever we feel like doing). It really leaves little time for "chommies".

I don't go out  of my way to forge relationships and i honestly do not have time for meaningless friendships either. With my kids at school and at kindergarten, i get much joy befriending their friend's moms who by the way i meet during birthday parties and sleepovers. Childhood friendships have worked out very well for me as i can pick up the phone any time I need to talk, and somehow those are the only friendships that I have experienced not to have any hangups. I come from a big family, so my sisters have really become my friends. My email group of old high school mates proves to be very fullfilling as we laugh about the old days, making fun of some of the teachers, while also talking about our current lives.  The only social commitment i foresee in my immediate future is to join one of the groups at my local church. For me meeting the same group of people weekly, while participating on something meaningful to me  is the best way for me as a working mom and wife to kickstart a social life.  Other than than i am content with the status quo.

My main point is not to bash friendships, but for one to assess their relationships and question the efforts they put into maintaining certain relationships that do not add any value to their lives. I still have people i consider true friends. I don't feel under pressure to talk to them over the phone every other day or visit each other once a week, but i always notice that we always come through for each other and bailing each other out.

Are you busy ferrying kids to and from school while juggling dinner and your laptop? How do you keep yourself connected with the world outside your house?

Maybe you will find the below book from amazon an interesting read;
The Meaning of Friendship