The Unexpected Loneliness of Midlife Friendships
I had a conversation recently that stayed with me long after it ended. It wasn't a dramatic conversation or one that solved any of life's biggest problems. In fact, it was remarkably ordinary. Two women talking honestly about friendships, connection, and how surprisingly difficult it can be to build meaningful relationships in midlife. As we talked, I found myself nodding over and over again because she was putting words to something I had quietly been feeling for years. It made me realize that while we often hear people talk about the loneliness of adolescence or the challenges of starting over after retirement, we don't spend nearly enough time talking about the loneliness that can quietly settle into the middle years of life. When we're young, friendships seem to happen almost by accident. We meet people at school, in college, at our first jobs, or through activities we naturally participate in. We don't think much about how friendships are formed because we'...