I realize that I am a bit of a hermit. A bit antisocial, a bit of an odd duck, yada yada. I don't make friends easily, and as I get older it seems that friends are something you made when you were young, and you just kept them. Getting new ones is difficult at best.

This was fine when I worked, because there were people I liked there, and it satisfied my limited social needs. When I became a stay at home mom, it became harder. Even while on maternity leave (back when gas was...