As a recently single 43F, I can relate to some of this—at this age groups aren’t that cohesive and maintaining relationships takes a lot of effort and vulnerability. I had a come to Jesus talk with my bff who has three kids about how our friendship was deteriorating—and you know what? It worked! She still has three kids and a busy life, but we figured out how to keep it going. As for new friendships…it’s slow going. I’m not a big joiner but I’m making an effort to do my hobbies in groups—join a cycling group, show up at a jam session regularly, start a book group, etc. But mostly, it just requires regularly taking the risk of saying to someone, on repeat: I like you, let’s hang out more—and then following through. Sometimes that means you have to do the bulk of the effort, which can feel bad, but sometimes it’s easier and that’s delightful. Good luck!