The Great Pretender. New member

[The great pretender]

Hi everyone. I'm 68 yrs old and have been retired for 7 years. I was employed as a secretary for 23 years. I have one child. A girl, and she doesn't speak to me. Maybe that will change someday. I don't blame her....it's both of us. We just don't click.
My husband died 21 years ago. I've been alone ever since. Dated a little bit since then. Nothing serious.
I don't have a friend to speak of. The people I worked with ghosted me after retirement. I have tried over the years to be friendly to the neighbors. They are friendly and they have visited with me for short periods of time and then suddenly....ghosted.
So, I live alone with my sweet kitty and she takes away a lot of stress.
Feeling so lonely....but pretending I'm good.

 

[Forgottendanfan]

Welcome, from a fellow cat enthusiast.

 

[Rohini]

Hi everyone. I'm 68 yrs old and have been retired for 7 years. I was employed as a secretary for 23 years. I have one child. A girl, and she doesn't speak to me. Maybe that will change someday. I don't blame her....it's both of us. We just don't click.
My husband died 21 years ago. I've been alone ever since. Dated a little bit since then. Nothing serious.
I don't have a friend to speak of. The people I worked with ghosted me after retirement. I have tried over the years to be friendly to the neighbors. They are friendly and they have visited with me for short periods of time and then suddenly....ghosted.
So, I live alone with my sweet kitty and she takes away a lot of stress.
Feeling so lonely....but pretending I'm good.

Welcome. I'm new also...and I love cats.
Happy postings.

 

[lonelyblossom]

Hi everyone. I'm 68 yrs old and have been retired for 7 years. I was employed as a secretary for 23 years. I have one child. A girl, and she doesn't speak to me. Maybe that will change someday. I don't blame her....it's both of us. We just don't click.
My husband died 21 years ago. I've been alone ever since. Dated a little bit since then. Nothing serious.
I don't have a friend to speak of. The people I worked with ghosted me after retirement. I have tried over the years to be friendly to the neighbors. They are friendly and they have visited with me for short periods of time and then suddenly....ghosted.
So, I live alone with my sweet kitty and she takes away a lot of stress.
Feeling so lonely....but pretending I'm good.

Hi what happened to me is in the general forum asking others how it happened to them. People ghosted me too if I understand the term right.

 

[sunflowergirl1306]

Hi what happened to me is in the general forum asking others how it happened to them. People ghosted me too if I understand the term right.

Hi everyone. I'm 68 yrs old and have been retired for 7 years. I was employed as a secretary for 23 years. I have one child. A girl, and she doesn't speak to me. Maybe that will change someday. I don't blame her....it's both of us. We just don't click.
My husband died 21 years ago. I've been alone ever since. Dated a little bit since then. Nothing serious.
I don't have a friend to speak of. The people I worked with ghosted me after retirement. I have tried over the years to be friendly to the neighbors. They are friendly and they have visited with me for short periods of time and then suddenly....ghosted.
So, I live alone with my sweet kitty and she takes away a lot of stress.
Feeling so lonely....but pretending I'm good.

Hello to you both and welcome

 

[lonelyblossom]

Thanks and I'm 55 but part of it started when I was 19.

 

[Finished]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[MrLifeWarriorDad]

Hi everyone. I'm 68 yrs old and have been retired for 7 years. I was employed as a secretary for 23 years. I have one child. A girl, and she doesn't speak to me. Maybe that will change someday. I don't blame her....it's both of us. We just don't click.
My husband died 21 years ago. I've been alone ever since. Dated a little bit since then. Nothing serious.
I don't have a friend to speak of. The people I worked with ghosted me after retirement. I have tried over the years to be friendly to the neighbors. They are friendly and they have visited with me for short periods of time and then suddenly....ghosted.
So, I live alone with my sweet kitty and she takes away a lot of stress.
Feeling so lonely....but pretending I'm good.

Welcome, I hope you can find some happiness here. Just like all the members in this forum if you ever wanna chat, let us know. We will do our best to help.

 

[Roxiee]

Hi everyone. I'm 68 yrs old and have been retired for 7 years. I was employed as a secretary for 23 years. I have one child. A girl, and she doesn't speak to me. Maybe that will change someday. I don't blame her....it's both of us. We just don't click.
My husband died 21 years ago. I've been alone ever since. Dated a little bit since then. Nothing serious.
I don't have a friend to speak of. The people I worked with ghosted me after retirement. I have tried over the years to be friendly to the neighbors. They are friendly and they have visited with me for short periods of time and then suddenly....ghosted.
So, I live alone with my sweet kitty and she takes away a lot of stress.
Feeling so lonely....but pretending I'm good.

Hey welcome to the forum

 

[constant stranger]

Hello Great Pretender. We have a lot in common....I'm 69 and don't have friends; my family and I didn't have a functional rapport and they're all dead now anyway; my relationship with the neighbors is comparable to yours; I try to pretend in public that I'm OK but this isn't really a very satisfactory life that I'm living here in my twilight years.
I did have two cats whom I cared for but they lived out their lives and I buried them.

Oh wow.......this all sounds so gloomy. OK, things aren't desperate for me, just dreary.

 

[AStorace]

Sounds like many of us have the same thing in common - how to keep friendships going in post-50+ ages. It seems there is kind of a natural ending to many friendships in mid-life, from what I've experienced. I'm single with no children, so all of my friends are at the stage where kids are graduating or having kids fo their own. I find it difficult in that if are single, no one invites you to parties as you're not 'paired up' or something. In Europe, where I used to live, the different generations mixed much more than in the US. Or like where I live, most people have lived here their entire lives and don't open their family & friend circles to outsiders.

 

[AStorace]

Hello Great Pretender. We have a lot in common....I'm 69 and don't have friends; my family and I didn't have a functional rapport and they're all dead now anyway; my relationship with the neighbors is comparable to yours; I try to pretend in public that I'm OK but this isn't really a very satisfactory life that I'm living here in my twilight years.
I did have two cats whom I cared for but they lived out their lives and I buried them.

Oh wow.......this all sounds so gloomy. OK, things aren't desperate for me, just dreary.

Have you thought about getting another cat? There are many older cats that need homes and they are such good company. Fostering for a rescue group is another option - and if you foster one you like, you can apply to adopt.

 

[AStorace]

Hi everyone. I'm 68 yrs old and have been retired for 7 years. I was employed as a secretary for 23 years. I have one child. A girl, and she doesn't speak to me. Maybe that will change someday. I don't blame her....it's both of us. We just don't click.
My husband died 21 years ago. I've been alone ever since. Dated a little bit since then. Nothing serious.
I don't have a friend to speak of. The people I worked with ghosted me after retirement. I have tried over the years to be friendly to the neighbors. They are friendly and they have visited with me for short periods of time and then suddenly....ghosted.
So, I live alone with my sweet kitty and she takes away a lot of stress.
Feeling so lonely....but pretending I'm good.

Have you thought about volunteering for a group? Your organization skills are always needed - some places let you volunteer for special events, or you could have a daily opportunity. A local wildlife rescue group uses volunteers to feed all of the rabbits and birds and they require a daily commitment. Or you could help at a food shelf or place like that that organizes donations or helps hand out goods to their clients. You can meet people that way and daily contact really helps. I had a part-time job every spring at a local garden center and I really enjoyed the customer contact and co-workers. I work from home, but 2.5 months of work every spring really helped me to keep up my 'friend' skills.

 

[KimP]

Welcome to the forum

 

[user 188522]

Retirement sucks. I can relate to your story.