Tips on making friends, please?
I have a lovely life in so many ways but I've realised that I don't have any social life at all. I don't live where I grew up, although I've been here a while now, and the only friends I've got here are from work - we talk a lot, go for lunches, etc but we don't socialise outside work. I have lots of acquaintances who I've met over the years - mums from school, baby groups, neighbours, that kind of thing. We text occasionally and have nice chats when I see them but that's it.
I've just seen a couple of photos this week that have brought all of this home - three of the mums from school camping together with their families and six of my neighbours - all women about my age - on a night out. The mums have known each other as long as I've known them (children in the same class), as have my neighbours (newbuild housing estate - we all moved in at the same time). I don't know how to be included in things like this. How have they managed to make friendships and I haven't?
Can anyone help me, please? How do I go about converting acquaintances, of which I have a decent amount, into friends? What should I be doing? I'd love to have a group of friends to invite over for a meal and bottle of wine but I just feel it's never going to happen.