I have groups of "friends" that I go out with. Most of them are from work and we get together to do things like bowl, shoot pool, or go to a karaoke bar. These are fun excursions; particularly since we don't bowl, shoot pool, and some of us don't sing very well. These outings usually happen once every few months and we try to include as many people as we can and we all laugh and joke around. It's light-hearted fun and doesn't ever get really serious. We do it because life gets so busy, and we like each other well enough that we want to stay in touch with one another.
I also have a small group of friends that I have known for quite some time and we relate to each other on a much deeper level than my other buddies.
If I had to choose, I must say that I prefer a small group of intimate friends and we know each other quite well and we are comfortable wandering in and out of each other's lives and we stay in touch constantly by phone or email or Instant Messenger. When the chips are down and any one of us has a crisis, a tragedy, or one of us just needs to talk something through; these are the people I call because you know they will drop everything and come to your aid. They are friends that almost feel like family.
This small group of friends varies depending on what's going on in each of our lives. Sometimes I will see a lot of one friend if he or she doesn't happen to be dating someone, or struggling with a newborn, or just simply works nearby and we will hang out and watch movies and enjoy each other's company for awhile. There is a trust between each individual in this group that no matter what combination of us gets together; it is not a slight against any individual. We have come by the rules of friendship naturally by never making one of the friends feel bad if they cannot be part of a night we all have together. Life is busy so we have all given each other permission to participate or not depending on what's going on in each of our lives.
This group gathers informally at a local restaurant in town or at one of our houses and we share a meal, and share some stories with a level of intimacy that mirrors a family meal.
It's Sex in the City meets How I Met Your Mother meets Queer As Folk and it means that no matter how much your life changes throughout time and no matter how far you roam, you can always return to this core group of people and find yourself at home.