bad friend = me?

i've been going through a phase of thinking i am a bad friend, but i think i seem to have higher standards and expectations for myself than i do for my friends? not sure why i always feel like i need to be the one to keep in contact, the one to follow up and make plans with people. in reality, it should be a mutual thing. i do feel for the most part that i take on a lot of the responsibilities for keeping the friendships alive. i really do value my relationships, but sometimes it is difficult and tiring trying to keep in touch and be the best friend that i can be, and i feel that i fail most of the time. i know i haven't been putting a lot of effort into things lately and i have been using my location (Aurora) as an excuse for not making plans. i also feel that as we are growing older people are "coupling off" and don't need to spend as much time doing friend-type things as they used to. that may work for some of us, but for me, its not cutting it.
since i have always been about quality not quantity when it comes to friends, i should really get my butt in gear and get my friendships back on track to the level that i want them to be at. i may need to lean on people in the months to come and i want to know that they have my back.