I can see how it becomes harder for parents to make friends as their children get older, especially once they children are adults themselves. We often connect with parents of their friends as we drive to a sit in the audience of events, practises, competitions, etc. Then suddenly, those “forced” interactions are no longer.
Sometimes we’ve become close enough friends to continue to see them after the kids move on. But in many cases, we’re lost wondering what next. I was fortunate to have reconnected with some old friends while my girls were still in school, but if I hadn’t I’d doing some of what I did then. Accepting invitations to activities I may not have otherwise. Knowing that the hardest part would be getting out the door, but that I’d be glad I went.
When my girls got old enough to drive themselves to practises, I took advantage of my time being freed up to start focusing on my own interests more. Getting more involved in the community theatre, meeting girlfriends for dinner, dog-walking dates, and yes sometimes enjoying a quiet evening at home with a book, a glass of wine and a tub filled with hot water and essential oils. Now that I’m on this side of parenting, I find myself needing to make the effort to pick up the phone, and call or facetime my children, while until now it had always been the other way around.
We have some travel planned in the coming months – and I don’t know how many more opportunities we’ll have to take trips together, so I want to make the most of them. But do we revisit somewhere we’ve already been together, or find a new destination to explore?
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