Yes, lots of acquaintances/superficial friendships, but just a few close friends. My 'close' friends are family (my sister, but she lives in another state). When my dad died suddenly a few years ago, I called my cousin (was my roommate in college) first. We hadn't talked to eachother in a few years (d/t kids/busyness; no fallout), but she was there for me. Locally, my close friends are from church.
Even in high school, I had only 2 or 3 friends that I considered 'close.' LOTS of acquaintances.
And then....I have to give a shout out for my current BFF, my husband. :-)
I'm sorry you're in this situation right now. I work in healthcare, as well. I understand what you're saying about the drama and gossip. It comes in waves, and I try to stay out. My friendships at work are sincere, but I tend to keep the scope limited to work. My husband and I also frequently work opposite eachother, but we do have a great daycare provider (for the days/nights we are both working). She is our 'adopted' grandma. If we have an emergency and need someone to watch the kids in the middle of the night we can call her. We know her from church.
When I worked full-time, it was harder to develop new/close friendships (outside of work)--even at church, b/c I wasn't as available (and when I WAS home, I was catching up on housework, errands, kids, etc, etc. any extra time was, like you said, family time). B/c of this, I relied on my husband/family. The one person I could alway connect with or vent to outside of my family was our daycare provider.
Hugs!:grouphug: