It's so easy to fall out of touch with friends in this day and age.

you take for granted that they will always be there, and that at some point you'll get back in touch, and things will go back to the way they were.

Do Not Trust That It Will Happen.

Get back in touch now. And keep in touch, even if it's just quick emails once a week or two. I assumed one of my best friends would be around forever and that we'd always be able to laugh and joke around - after all, we'd fallen out of touch briefly before and went back to our friendship like no time had ever passed.

Then recently I found out she'd passed away. To me, this was like a physical punch to the gut. How could this have happened? how could I not have known?

Easy. We fell out of touch.

So if there's a friend you haven't spoken to in a while, fire off an email, make a phone call, write a letter, drop by their house.  Don't let this happen to you. As sure as you are that nothing will change, or that nothing will happen, it can. medical emergencies come up, car accidents, broken limbs, house fires, any number of things could happen. Don't let your last memory be "talk to you next week" and then find out 12 months later you'll never get the chance to talk to them again.