Managing Adult Friendships is a Mother

Is A Mother

Managing adult friendships is a Mother! The older we get, our packed schedules, geographical moves, and changing priorities can make it challenging to make and maintain friendships. In our current phase of life, we are mindful that some friendships come and go, while others continue to thrive year after year. And still, there can be room to develop new friendships, but it ain’t easy to do. . .
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In episode 11 of ___ Is a Mother, we discuss our experiences making and maintaining friendships as we move through different phases of our lives, and recognizing when someone is your friend for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Some of the talking points we go over in this episode include:

• Low-maintenance, or flexible, friendships become more and more valuable the more chaotic our lives become.
• Managing expectations around how you show up as a friend vs. how others show up for you.
• Re-evaluating friendships over time, and setting boundaries that prioritize mutually beneficial relationships.
• Motherhood and other major life shifts will likely change friendship dynamics—either positively or negatively.

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1. Managing Adult Friendships is a Mother (00:00:00)

2. Adult friendships become challenging as people age, with finding new friendships and scheduling time to catch up becoming more difficult. (00:05:05)

3. PV struggles to connect with new friends in her 30s and 40s, despite having a strong network of existing friends. (00:08:19)

4. Feeling disappointed in adult friendships due to unmet expectations, shifting focus to how they want to show up as a friend. (00:14:28)

5. Jamie and PV discuss the importance of mutually beneficial relationships and setting boundaries in friendships. (00:21:09)

6. Setting boundaries on relationships that no longer serve them. (00:25:15)

7. Jamie reflects on how COVID-19 has affected his relationships. (00:31:02)

8. Jamie and PV discuss the challenges of maintaining friendships in adulthood. (00:35:03)

9. Maintaining friendships, especially in group settings over time. (00:40:11)