It’s been said that a friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future and accepts you just the way you are. But for many of us, having or making a good friend as we get older seems almost beyond reach. Friends from the past may have fallen out of contact and making new friends may become harder, as our peers move or pass away and our ability to make social connections becomes more challenging.

But there’s lots of advice available, from general guidelines on meeting people and making friends to humorous offerings from writer Dave Barry on why, at age 70, he’s decided to emulate his dog and approach friendship in an open, trustful and joyous manner. On a more serious note, writer Erica Manfred recently revealed her strategy for making friends at age 76: It’s more fun to be the token “cool lady” amongst younger friends, and she uses Meetup.com as a way to find younger, kindred spirits. If you’re trying to sustain or re-kindle long-time friendships, The Huffington Post recently profiled long-time friends who offer up advice on how to sustain friendships into many decades. But be careful about re-engaging with friends you haven’t seen in a long time: as writer Martha Slaughter warns, “Life can be a rough ride, and when you haven’t seen someone in a while it can be tricky catching up.”