How do you navigate being left out of things because no one considers asking you to join when couples do things together? I know I won't ever be part of a couple again...it's been 8 years, I'm 54, the window is closing pretty tightly at this point. I don't even want to ALWAYS be included, but to not even be considered adds another layer of grief. I have a lot of friends, tons of acquaintances, I'm not a social pariah by any means, but I'm not part of a couple and that makes me forgettable.

I know the answer is to "join a club" or "volunteer" or "spend time with other singles." Yes, those are things that are options, but not really the point. The point is that without being part of a couple, much of life is shut off. When I spend a day doing nothing, I'm literally doing nothing. When my husband was alive, we would spend a day together doing nothing...it was quality couple time. I'll never get that again. Watching a movie together is a date, watching one alone is just sad.

I've tried online dating (massive failure), I just need to figure out how to navigate this world as a solo person. I live in the midwest so it's even more family-oriented than it is in larger cities or on the coasts. I really can't move at this point so I need to figure out how to live here without slowly dying from loneliness. Dramatic, I know, but it's how I feel right now.