I joined some meetup groups on meetup.com in order to socialize and make new friends. I also joined a women's bible study group and we had great fun. Look and see if Divorce Care is offered in a church near you.

Oh and if you are in a large city, there are usually enrichment classes offered at schools around the city. They are usually inexpensive. I took a belly dancing class. It was great exercise and took lots of focus which gave my brain a break from worrying on stuff out of my control.((((HUGS))))

Thanks for the advice. I will start looking into those things immediately!
:)

I find meeting people is easy once you let your guard down. So start with people at work, church and the best ones are friends of friends. Just talk, exchange numbers, facebook.....connecting is what its all about.

During the 18 Months of Hell, I was still living on my Maryland farm and while "town" was just 8 miles away, there wasn't much to do in the way of socializing with people my age (too old for the bar scene and bored with it 20 years earlier)! At that time, I didn't know about Meetups.com but seriously doubt that there were any other than the "playdate" kind for mothers with young children.

I DID find a DivorceCare group that was extremely helpful. In addition to the weekly gathering, they would schedule things on the weekend -- dinner together at a moderately priced venue, pot-luck picnics where members could bring their kids, etc.

I had a pretty close group of horseback riding buddies and would get out on the trails at least once during the week and once on the weekends. And even though the H had flown the coop, I still hosted my annual "Smallville Christmas" party both years while waiting for divorce to be over. NOT disrupting that kind of social routine really helped, although the guest list changed a bit after the first year. Didn't matter....the people who ran and hid their heads in the sand weren't TRUE FRIENDS anyway. Lesson learned!

You might also look into adult education classes at your local community college. My experience was that they are fairly low-cost and fun! You absolutely MUST get out and do things during this difficult time. It's a good distraction for you and will keep you from walking holes in your floor. xoxo

I joined some meetup groups . One is for older women divorcing and another is a divorced and single group plus a few more.we have an active community center and I met more women there and we get together for coffe or lunch.

Are you anywhere near Mt. Laurel Nj?

Sort of. It is not a huge distance.

All the gal have some good ideas. You could see if your church needs help, or if you don't belong to one and are so inclined - to join one. Volunteer - you'll meet new people and be doing something for the community at the same time.

Now's a good time to help at the food bank, or shelter. If you like animals, you can donate your time to your local shelter.

Merry Christmas.