In the Media – Never too old to make friends
Making Friends
September 19th, 2014
One of my colleagues, Sandra Beckwith, writes for Melrose Gardens, an assisted living community in Los Angeles, California. Sandra spoke to me and several other experts to identify some tips for making friends at any age.
She makes the point that it is NEVER too late to make friends!
You can read her excellent piece on the Melrose Garden Blog that offers some helpful techniques.
Category: KEEPING FRIENDS
It is a good article, but for a limited demographic. There were really no new tips for me. I agree that we need to get out there and yes, to reciprocate and initiate but that can be easier said than done.
The change to empty nester can be short lived until grandchildren come along that is and then the focus goes to them. And particularly in conversations. When one has no grandchildren and/or will not have grandchildren, those conversations can be pretty one sided.
I live in a large city and our Meetup choices are pretty amusing to me. I am not sure when Meetup became the solution. It is far more difficult to make new friends after a certain age than a blog article can address.
Calla, you bring up a really good point about the grandkid issue. Several friends have become new grandmothers recently, and I notice this changes their social life more than I’d imagined. (I am an empty nester with no grandchildren.) In particular, one friend’s daughters both had babies at the same time, and now, suddenly, this friend is all about babysitting, taking the grand babies to special events, hosting big family dinners… and generally going back to her old life as the mother of a large family, with no time for friends outside the family circle. I think this is another good topic for Irene to discuss here! 🙂
Sandra, I have seen this too. And witnessed everything you mentioned. And yes, a revert to the old life.
When listening to a mother talk about kids, often there are funny stories of antics, some complaining, bragging, etc. But in listening to a grandmother talk about kids is far different. Unless she is complaining of her daughter in law. 🙂
I guess you could call me an empty nester too but my daughter is 34, soon to be 35 so I have adjusted. But she and my SIL do not plan to be parents so that will never be a part of my life. But if I did have a grandchild, I hope that I would seek a balance and incorporate the me I have discovered in the past 15 years or so and not revert back to something society or the adult children expect. My daughter and SIL also live 1300 miles from me so I would miss an awful lot.
Excellent article, Irene! I hear a lot of middle-aged women (too young to be called seniors) say that they need to reestablish “girlfriend” time after they become empty nesters. So many women I know relied mostly on their kids and immediate families with school activities, sports events, etc.) to serve as their complete social life. It takes effort to get out there and meet new friends and reestablish old ones. We have to reciprocate and initiate!