Friendship advice please!

[Zoeyclash]

I'm just looking for a but of reassurance here and hopefully some wise words ..... I'm in a friendship group with two others. It started off about 10 years because our kids are all the same age, go to the same school, do lots of the same acyivities togther etc. Our kids are older now but the three of us are friends outside of our kids. I've got more responsibilities in my life than the other two..... elderly parents, more children than them, DH away a lot etc. The other two often plan things together without including me e.g. nights out or coffee dates. I know it sounds very petty at nearly 50 years of age, but I find it very hurtful to be excluded from these. The other two mums are closer with each other than either of them are with me, which I completely accept can be a natural dynamic in a friendship group of three, but I'd just like to hear your thoughts on this situation if any of you have experience of anything similar. I'd also like to know how I can just make my peace with being the "spare wheel" of the friendship group. Thanks all.

I had the same thing happen to me, I ended up backing off from them, they then used that as the excuse they needed to stop speaking to me altogether but to be honest it's no loss, it's less stressful and so much better for my mental health.

Perhaps try to find time to spend time with them separately so that you have those individual relationships as well as the group one. If the one-on-one relationships don't work, then the group dynamic is bound to be less successful.

Honestly OP, this wouldn't bother me. As long as they're good friends to you and don't let you down or say unkind things or anything like that, it's fine for some people to be closer than others and I'd still be happy to have their friendship.