Friendship: Holding On and Reaching Out

What comes to mind when you think of friendship?

Has your definition of a good friend changed as you’ve gotten older?

Do different friendships meet different needs?

These are some of the questions sisters Tara and Tina explore in this episode of Messy Middlescence.

More and more research reminds us how vital friendships and social connections are as we age. But how we experience friendship — and what we need from it — shifts over time. Each of us brings our own mix of circumstances, energy, and values to the relationships that sustain us.

Tara and Tina open this season’s theme of Friendship and Connection by sharing their own stories and reflections:

what friendship looks like now, what makes it hard, and why it’s worth the effort.

It’s a thoughtful conversation about the comfort of being known, the vulnerability of reaching out, and the small, steady ways we can keep our friendships — and ourselves — growing.

Episode Highlights

• The difference between being friendly and being friends
• How a small gesture — a phone number, a walk, a random “yes” — can blossom into a lasting bond
• Why time and shared routines help deepen friendships
• The quiet value of casual, everyday connections
• The rarity (and joy) of finding true couple friendships
• The ongoing challenge of finding time to nurture our relationships
• The guilt or sadness that can come from feeling there’s no bandwidth for new friends
• Using walks or movement to keep friendships as healthy as our bodies
• How social media shapes connection differently across generations