Adult friendships

[Griff]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

ME 2

ME 3 excepting the Daniel Craig part.

[Stormieweather]

I've found that since I quit drinking five years ago, my social life has shrunk to miniscule proportions. I think a lot of my social interaction revolved around drinking or activities that encourage drinking, so now that I avoid those sorts of situations, my 'drinking buddies' have all drifted away.

I became involved in online gaming about the same time, which opened up a whole new world of friendships. Many of these people have become RL friends, although I can't hang out often as they're scattered around the world. A couple of them are in my city, however, and we do get together now and then. The friends I've made in the gaming world are equal to any IRL. We chat on the phone, share pain and triumphs, send flowers and gifts for occasions, and enjoy the same online experiences (ingame). When any of us have the opportunity to meet up with others, we do so.

My best friends are my partner and my sister. I haven't seen sis in 9 years but we still email, goose each other on facebook, send txt messages and call regularly. My partner is my buddy in everything, including gaming. But the majority of my free time is spent with my children, because they simply grow up too fast. Eventually, I'll have plenty of time to sit around and commiserate with the other blue-haired, decrepit retirees.

But beyond all that, as I've grown and matured, I've found that I'm pretty damn happy in my own company. I happen to like myself and have tons of activities that I enjoy, so being alone is not a burden. Actually, I relish any time that I have to myself, since it's such a rarity.

That said, I am on Classmates.com and Facebook and it is nice to see how old friends are doing. Do I want to get all entangled with them the way I was when I was young and needy? Nah.