I am a 42 years old woman, separated, and very happy that way. I am definetly not ready for a new romantic relationship but having said that I could do with having new friends. I have 3 daughters (4, 5 and 14) and I live in Southampton. My family lives far away but I have friends. They are mainly friends from work or friends who do not have children. Their idea of going out is not going to the swings! So at times, like tonight, now that the kids are in bed, I could do with a friend to share a glass of wine and having a chat. And on Sunday, it would be nice to have someone to go to the park with me and the girls. Is there anyone out there who feels the same>
Hi vbn. Welcome along. I think what you're describing is how many of us here at One Space have either felt, or are still feeling. Do your friends from work come round to yours at all? How about your children's school friends Mums? Perhaps ask them round when the children are playing?
Do the girls see their Dad have regular contact with their Dad? Overnight visits? You could then arrange to go out with friends from work?
Hi `vbn` from me too!
I`m also a 42 yr old mum of 2 girls 8 & 12 and know exactly how you feel. Most nites once the girls are in bed i`m alone and it takes some getting used to, sometimes i love it & sometimes i don`t. I have friends but mostly married one`s and nites out are few and far between. I only have 1 friend who is a single mum and we try to meet up when we can, but its still challenging.
One thing i did do, was to volunteer a couple of hours a week for a local charity and i thoroughly enjoy it. I`ve made new contacts and they are trying to develop a social club associated with the charity so i look forward to that.
Hazeleyes &`lrh` have suggested some great ideas too. Looking forward to hearing how things turn out.
Best wishes,
A xxxx
Hi vbn and welcome to One Space 
I think that the others have given you some great starting points, it is difficult when you have younger ones and i know that its probably not much of a consolation, but i have found that it has got easier to have a social life as they have got older.
Hi vbn
I am in the same boat! I have two girls aged 6 and 12. I have felt lonely quite often as I have adapted to being single / separated. I joined Gingerbread (my local group) and the first meeting was Saturday just gone. It was really nice to meet about 8 other single mums. they meet once a month and have trips out for eg Littlehampton day trip in 5 weeks time. We are also all going to swap emails / mobiles. I would recommend looking at the main website then searching for your local group. I also joined some meet ups and I am going to my first one this friday for single women in SE London - there are meant to be 24 attending and it is only 2 miles away. Not sure how it will go, but I am going to give it a try. Good luck, you are not alone in your feelings. xx
hi vbn
think theres something about being 42 i am too x im too far away but happy to chat.
HM x
Hello vbn
There's lots of online friendship for you here!
Also have a look at our article Making New Friends for some suggestions
hi vbn welcome to the boards - I definitely feel like that - I have recently joined meetups.com and are looking for groups to join that have the same interests - i would recommend a look.
you could also look at netmums for other mums in the area you live - i guess the problem with wanting someone to come over for a glass of wine is they either have to be single or married and want to come out in the evening which is a rare find!
good luck with your search though - there are lots of other tips on here if you look around the website