Thanks for your reply, Barbara.
As you can see this is a tough issue for me.
I am struggling with the societal pressure to be married and children. I know some people focus almost exclusively on their husband and kids. I am not friends with them, because, frankly, there is no room for me. Other of my friends have children but still make time for adult interests and friends. I have been married but never had children so I don't know what I would do. I know when I was married I certainly kept up with my friends. Like Kahlil Gibran says - love consists not in gazing at each other, but looking out into the world together.
Conversely, I work in an intense job - there are certainly limits to how much time I can spend with friends and family because of that.
Confusing issue