Resolved Question

I think I am being friendly--I smile, I talk first, I touch someone's shoulder or arm to get their attention in a noisy place. I want to gain social skills, but my husband seems to think I don't have any. I cannot tell what it is that I can do right to let others know I am trying to be friendly.

For a husband (or wife) to make that kind of comment is cruel. Doing it as a joke is one thing, but doing it to be mean or to be controlling is wrong. Some men think a womans' place is to be quiet and have no opinions. Perhaps...she has no friends because they don't like her husband, which was the case with me many years ago. I was married to an outrageous and annoying man, who would always find a way to embarass me in front of people I knew, at parties and such. It got so none of my good friends would stop by or include me in anything because of his attitude. I find myself, all these years later, doing many things alone because I don't think know how to go about making new friends at 50 years old. It probably sounds lame, but it is a real feeling.