I don’t expect to make any new friends, Jean. I’ve lived in my current home for seven years now and the only relationship approaching friendship I formed was with my next door neighbors who just moved away. Luckily, I have kept in touch with old friends but we only see each other a few times a year.

I joined a women’s club that turned out to be Mean Girls: The Geriatric Edition. I tried community chorus and being a judge for our regional high school musical competition and met nobody. I’ve been in seven plays since I moved here and made some great acquaintances but nothing morphs into a relationship outside the theater. I go to senior Zumba classes at the community center, but again, nothing extends beyond the class.

People underestimate the difficulty one has in making friends later in life, particularly when you relocate.