Where Did All My Friends Go?

Where did all my friends go?

That's a question so many Empty Nesters ask me.  This is a tough one for some. A liberating one for others.

So what happened? One day you were with these friends all the time. You were sitting in the bleachers cheering on the high school football team. Or sitting in the audience of the latest high school musical. You were texting every day about what time practice started or what was going on with that testing schedule.

Then....

One day, your kids' high school sports/theatrical/academic career ends.

You are no longer in touch with the people who you called friends (aka, the parents of your kids' friends).

We call these friendships, "friends of convenience."  You met them and saw them all the time because of your kids. The things you had in common were your kids and your kids' activities.

So now what do you do?

DON'T PANIC!!

Making friends at your age is EASY. Really. It's not like when YOU were in high school and there was all that drama! Crap, I would never want to go back there and do that again!

Now you have the chance to get out there and meet friends who share your interests, passions, purposes. So get out there and do the things you want/love to do. It doesn't matter what it is... A book club at the library? A spin class at the gym? Volunteering at your church? Finally starting your own business? What is it for you? A whole new world is about to open up to you. And it's a world that you can design. What's your new purpose now that your kids are on their own and starting their adult lives?

Here's your exercise for the week.  Get a piece of paper and write down your response.
Pretend it's one year from today. Whatever that date is, I want you to pretend you and I meet on that day.
I ask you, "How was your year?"
You start by saying, "It was the best year of my life!!
Me: "Tell me about it."
You: (on the piece of paper in front of you, right down everything you DID that made this the perfect year. Make sure you're telling me about it as if it was one year from now and you just had the best year of your life).

When you're finished, you will see in front of you GOALS. Things to make happen this year. It's time to get going and create your best year yet!


For more great things like this, join my next online workshop for Empty Nesters. Get all the details at https://gettingunstuckinastickyworld.com/workshops

Next week: Those adults who are still your children....