Girlfriends

Aren’t girlfriends great?  The older I get, the more important my girlfriends are to me.  They are my sisters, my confidantes, my playmates and are way up there on the list of life’s greatest blessings.

Let’s be clear here.  I’m not talking about girlfriends in any romantic or sexual way.  I’m talking about the women with whom I have a bond that goes beyond just friendship.

Girlfriends do for me what no one else can – they cheer me, support me, chide me when I need it, listen with their hearts and love me.  They encourage me to dream and reach for those dreams.  They challenge me and make me think about what I am saying and doing.  They give me a different point of view and make me look at my own values and ideas.  Best of all, they accept me for who I am. 

Girlfriends are the women with whom I laugh hysterically over some small, remembered mutual mishap, and cry with over some hurt or even just a silly, touching moment.  They are the women for whom my heart aches when they hurt and with whom I celebrate when something great happens to or for them.

Not surprisingly, my girlfriends are all woman I have known for a long time.  They come from different times and stages in my life.  Unfortunately, I don’t live close to many of them anymore; the closest is a two-and-a-half hour drive away and the furthest … well, I don’t expect to see her anytime soon because she lives on a different continent. 

One of the wonderful things about these kinds of relationships is that they survive almost anything – neglect, interruption, distance.  Distance has become easier to deal with because of the ease of communicating by email, cheap telephone rates and the relative affordability of travel (especially when you can use airline rewards!).  Neglect and interruption are higher barriers to overcome, but I have proof that they aren’t insurmountable – I wouldn’t have the girlfriends I have now without having climbed those hurdles.  And maybe they just serve to make the relationship stronger.

What is it that creates the kind of bond that we feel with only some of the women in our lives?  I have friends I’m happy to meet with and talk with, but it’s not the same as the enjoyment I get from spending time with girlfriends.  What‘s the difference?  Shared experiences?  Time and place?  Something in our personalities that just click?  It’s hard to put a finger on just what it is and when I think of each of my girlfriends, it’s different for each one. 

My life is richer for having such wonderful girlfriends.  I hope everyone can say the same.