I feel that if we didn't change over the years something would be strange.Times that twice...each of you will have met and surmounted issues.Totally respecting another person accepts difference.

"For Auld lang Syne" a Scottish ballad makes a sentiment and we sing this at the end of gatherings and weddings and especially at New Year..so rather that cause conflict that may be regretted my thoughts are to let things lie low for now...
if a statement is made you dont agree on...ask what is meant..we do often speak in code..
I ask what people mean when I dont understand..eg at a recent funeral a woman said to me that "The family" didn't know who was phoning the ward...as the family did know I needed to ask,,,seems a far off estranged member did not know my husband and me.this loosly true statement needed clarified.this woman was just wrongly informed...
This way there is no baggage taken away from statements..and just maybe the woman will think twice when speaking hearsay.
saying what I wanted wasnt said in a nasty way just in a clear way..

You need to go by your gut reaction Paige, particularily if you've known the friend for many years. However, there maybe something going on in her life that she may not be telling you. It's up to her to explain to you if she wants to.

Otherwise give her space and time as well as for yourself.

I actually have not gone on any girls' night out for a long time because I've moved far from my closest friends ...meaning several thousand kms. away. So I am content with just occasional but nice long chat with each good friend when we see other on the rare, precious visits.

Since my sister died over a month ago, I've had some puzzling responses from FORMER close friends. One woman who hasn't been a close friend for past 15 yrs., sent me a sympathy card and really wanted to talk to me. She did know my sister in ...high school, over 30 yrs. ago.

Frankly I'm not truly interested. Why did it take my sister's death to want her to reconnect with me? This person lives 4,000 kms. east of me. the only thing I can think of is that her hubby mysteriously died when he was young...only when he was in his mid-40's. I knew he was a full-time stay at home daddy for their twin sons, and had depression problems (he was a former, well-liked teacher, while she blazed ahead with her teaching career)... Much as I want to sympathize, I just have this feeling she's not going to reveal much about herself /her family situation...by phone after all these years.

In life's tough times, one really finds out who are the true friends vs. just unwanted curiosity.

Oh my goodness...Clicked over here to find so many thoughtful responses. Thank you all for such a large & warm welcome. I guess I'll start with finishing the rest of the story I posted:
Well, I still have no idea what is going on with my long-time friend. We have made these trips together for a few years now. But this one was totally different. She seemed first to just be going through the motions, then she was hurrying me, then snapping at me, treating me like a child (a not very bright child), telling me off and then a long silent, tension-filled car ride home. Jeeze. I tried to ask her about it but that only seemed to make it worse. I told my son all about it as objectively as I could and asked him what it seemed like to him. He is good at helping me take inventory. He found it all as peculiar as I did and said it sounded like she had been stuffing a number of her own things down; that it finally popped and spilled out all over our weekend. (Guess I was a 'safe place' to spill on...isn't that just the kind of compliment one can live without...) She did come by once and call once since we got back on October 24th, but each of those encounters was weird too. I'll give it time for her brain to settle. I'm not in any rush. Better to wait than try again too soon. Quite frankly, after the beating I took over that weekend, I have had enough of us two togther for a while. I am just glad not to be confused; I just hate it when I can't figure out if I messed up or it's the other person. I'm certainly fully capable of messing up, but my sense of it from the start was that something was going on with her. Each passing hour from that Friday afternoon when we left until Sunday evening when we got back brought another moment of feeling stunned. After all this time, I have never seen this side of her.
I agree with the views everyone posted back to me: On the one hand, a friendship of 24 years is worth working on. But also, I too learned along the way to move on from toxic relationships. I heard a quote that made me chuckle which is:

"I prefer my own bad company to the bad company of others."

Thank again everybody.
Cordially,
Paige