How often is it normal to text "just a friend"?

[Trophyfoot]

This is a man who's fairly recently separated and I am a fairly recent widow.

We've both said, (him more than me, if I'm honest) that we're just looking to live a little and want a good amount of time single before we event think about dating again.

He has become a good friend. We're two of the only single people in our circle and coincidentally have been working towards the same goal, so have been supporting each other and are good company for each other.

I like him a lot, but do mean it when I say like being single. I also think he's right to enjoy some time alone after a long marriage.

All good, except he texts me all the time. Pretty much every day and sometimes 2-3 "conversations" per day. All just chatty and friendly, but I've never had a friend with this much contact before. I'm probably less inclined than some, but even my good female friends only really text to make arrangements, we do our chatting when we see each other.

So is he just bored and lonely and leaning on me (he does have other friends), is he feeling something else but trying to be sensible/not rush into things, does he mean not ready for a relationship or doesn't want a relationship with me, is he just playing along with me saying I don't want a relationship?

I suspect I need to step away a bit, but don't want to!

Or is this level of texting normal in modern friendships?

I have a female friend and we text all the time, even when we are out with our partners or on holiday. On the other hand, my longest serving friend only texts when she wants to make arrangements. In other words, people are different. It sounds as if your new friend is lonely. Remember, you don’t have to answer immediately. Wait a while before replying, that will cut down the number of texts in a day. I hope it goes well.