Would you like to come out and play with me?

Inspired by the blog of a friend, I got to thinking. How do you make friends as a grownup? In the past, I really didn't. I relied on some power of fate to make people come to me. Which was pretty hard since I never went anywhere and fate would have had to led them to knock on my door and ask me to come out to play like when I was a child. I don't see that happening, somehow, do you?

Since I moved here, I use my daughter shamelessly. I feel as though, if I just started talking to someone on my street with no reason, they would think I was strange, or worse yet some kind of a psycho stalker type chick. So, I break the ice by talking about my little princess. I can talk to neighbours on the street when she runs into their yard, or as they are watching their kids. I can talk to strangers on the bus when they smile at her singing out loud on the ride. I am lucky I guess that she is so outgoing and carefree, it opens doors past my reserves. I joined a playgroup to take her too and that has opened doors too.

I do sometimes feel that pull to draw back into my shell, to cozy up in my house and talk to my online friends and let the world come to me, but I remember that it passes me by instead and I really do need people. When I am really stressed out, I need to be able to talk to my friend and say, you know what this sucks. And when I leave, it still sucks but I don't feel alone and I am better able to face it.

So how about you? Do you make friends as a grownup? How do you do it?