Am I being overly sensitive about this friendship situation?
I have a close friend I’ve known for many years. She often tells me she feels left out by a group of parents she knows through her child, and says they can be cliquey and are not “real friends.”
Recently, this parent group invited her to a birthday-related night out. She kept telling me she wasn’t looking forward to it and made it sound like it would be awkward.
A few days later, there was a local family event. I’d messaged her beforehand asking if she was going, as our children know each other and would have liked to meet up. She didn’t reply. I messaged again when we arrived, and once more later about the children doing an activity together, but still got no reply.
When I eventually bumped into her, she briefly said hello and said the other parents were there and being awkward with her. She then said she’d catch up with me later. Later on, I saw her sitting with that same group and looking very settled. She still didn’t reply to my message about the children meeting up.
I didn’t expect her to spend the day with me, and I’m not bothered that she has other friends. I just felt a bit brushed off. A proper hello, or a quick “come over and say hi,” would have been enough.
I’m now wondering whether I’m being too sensitive, or whether it’s reasonable to feel hurt and a bit used as the person she vents to when she feels excluded by
this group.