When the Kids Grow Up (and So Do Your Friendships)

Dear Friend,

No one really tells you what happens to your friendships when the kids grow up.

For years, life feels so full. You’re surrounded by people — coworkers who share your daily chaos, the other moms on the sidelines, the neighbors you wave to as everyone rushes off in different directions. There’s always something happening, some text thread buzzing, some plan to make. And then… slowly, quietly, it changes.

The kids get older. The job shifts. The routine that used to tether you to people starts to dissolve. And those women — the ones you used to see every week — they’re still around, but it’s different now. You still care about each other, but the conversations have softened into the occasional “We should get together sometime.”

And if you’re like me, sometime never really comes.

One day, you look around and realize your house is quiet. Your phone isn’t lighting up as often. Your weekends are a little emptier. It’s not bad — it’s just… still.

And that’s when it hits you.

You’ve spent so many years being someone’s mom, someone’s coworker, someone’s teammate, that you almost forgot how to be just you. And the friendships that once came so easily now take effort — not because you’ve changed, but because life has.

That’s where I was.

I wasn’t lonely, exactly — I have a wonderful husband, and a family I adore. But let’s be honest: women need women. We need people to laugh with over coffee, to text the random thing that made us smile, to share the tiny, ridiculous stories our husbands would never understand.

So I did something I never thought I’d do in my forties — I started over.

I built The Girlfriend Hub, not as a business plan or a grand idea, but as a lifeline. I just wanted to meet a few new women who were in that same weird, in-between space — the ones whose kids were grown, whose circles had shifted, who were ready to fill their calendars with laughter again.

And let me tell you… I met them.

I met so many incredible women. Women who show up. Women who are funny and brave and kind. Women who remind me daily that connection isn’t something we age out of — it just changes shape. My calendar is now full again — of brunches, trivia nights, spontaneous adventures, and belly laughs.

But my favorite part isn’t the events. It’s the inviting.

Because every time I meet someone new and say, “Come join us,” I see that same spark of relief I once felt — that look of, Oh, you get it. You’ve been here too.

And that’s when I know I’m right where I’m supposed to be.

So if you’re in that space right now — the quiet one where life feels different and you’re not sure what to do with the extra time — I just want to tell you this: You’re not alone. You haven’t lost your people forever. You’re just on the edge of finding the next ones.

And maybe, just maybe, the next great friendship of your life hasn’t even started yet.

❤️ Rebecca