seek, I think the future will look brighter for you because you've put your finger on what you're missing in life. Now all you have to do is find a way to fill that void.

I agree with EW. I think starting some kind of group, or gathering with other women who also wished they had closer ties with their families is a great idea.

Louisa, a member here, wanted to be in a writing group so she launched her own. I say go for it.

My MIL had two sons too. She connected with The Seven Silly Sisters. That's what they called themselves. They were a bunch of midlife women who were all single, except one. Their children were busy raising their kids, some children were out of town. They did all kinds of fun outings together, sometimes all seven, and other times, just a few. They spent time together during the holidays, traveled a bit together, and became their own little family offering support to one another. Might this be something you'd like to investigate?

I laughed at your mention of touching base with the kids on New Year's Eve. Ross and I talked about how we always called our parents at midnight. In fact, this is the first year I didn't call my Dad because he said he'd be asleep by midnight.

Ross and I wondered if that was something we were taught or just did on our own. Anyway, since our kids didn't call us, we called them, and they were cool with it. LIfe goes on.