Older friends hang out while reader works

DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently have become friends with a group of older women. We get along great and have had some wonderful conversations and enjoyable times hanging out together. The thing is, they have way more time on their hands than I do. They are either fully retired or semi-retired. They have no problem spending a leisurely afternoon having lunch and talking the day away. I was able to do that a little bit this summer, but I work and have deadlines and responsibilities. I am finding it difficult to make time to stay connected the way that they do. I don’t want them to feel like I am ignoring them, but I cannot carve out hours and hours every week on weekdays to hang. How can I get this point across without making them feel bad or stop inviting me to spend time with them? — Different Clock DEAR DIFFERENT CLOCK: First, it’s wonderful that you have friends across generations. I do my best to keep people who are younger and older than me in my close orbit. It makes life more interesting and keeps me tapped into what’s going on around me. That said, I, too, work — a lot — and have had a similar experience.