Loneliness and boredom have been a part of my life since my wife's passing 3 years ago. The combination of the two has been soul crushing, but three years on, I'd have to say that boredom is the biggest problem.
My wife was my best friend for 35 years and I now find myself at a loss for how to successfully navigate this new phase of life. We were seldom bored. She had her hobbies, I had mine, and we had things we did together. I especially miss our long road trips by car sharing the things we saw and did.
Following a two wheeled addiction that began when I was 15 years old, my main hobby for years was motorcycle travel across the US. However, thanks to geezer issues like arthritis, I seldom ride anymore. I wish early in life I had taken up something like golf because of the social aspect of it. Instead, I got hooked on long distance motorcycle riding which is primarily a solitary sport. Years ago, I was really into fishing but I burned out on that. All this to say that I need to find new hobbies or activities that will get me involved in meeting people and getting me out of my shell, but I am at a loss for what that might be.
As to loneliness, because neither my wife or I had children (my first marriage, her second), it can be hard for attraction to develop when I meet most women because there's just not a lot in common. Folks naturally want to talk about their grand children etc. and that is perfectly understandable but I can only relate as an outside observer. I really envy folks who have grand kids and close family ties but that just wasn't in the cards for me.
I really feel like writing more but it's late. Just needed to vent.
