Revive friendships

Continuing on the New Year resolutions theme..... I felt like writing again about this!

One of my New Year resolutions is to improve my friendship links, especially to revive older ones.

As time goes by, all our lives get busier and busier. And we could end up neglecting our best friends or some of our family. We feel bad about it, but we still allow new friends and activities to take over our time and energy.

Living abroad can make this even harder because it is easier to spend time with people who are physically close to us and not have 5 minutes to call an old best friend abroad.

This year, it is my resolution to make and send a card to every friend and relative I have abroad. When I mentioned this to someone here, I was told "this will be expensive". To that I answered "I cannot buy a present and post, but the card will be my present and it is the minimum I can do." And think about it... isn't there something very special about receiving something through the post that is not a leaflet or a bank statement, something personal for you?

Today I read few tips about balancing friendships... I am copying below some of their tips:

1. Identify the "sanguessugas". Sanguessuga means Leech (blood sucker type of worm) in Portuguese. These are friends that take more than they give. When you meet them you may also not leave with a positive mood / feeling about yourself. Spend less time with them.

2. Feel great friends. These are friends that make you feel happy. Make a real effort to spend time with them and develop the relationship.

3. Action! A lot of the time we say "you must come around sometime" or "we must meet up soon". Don't talk so much, book the date, mean what you say!

4. Simple is better. It may not be possible to go out for a big night out. You may not have the time or the money to do it. Keep it simple. Go out for a coffee, or even just call your friend to say hello. It is better than to wait for a year for that special occasion.

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