When you're 40+ and "still single" and not even presently dating anyone, your lifeline is your relationship with your female friends. And friends are even MORE important when you are self-employed, work from home in isolation, and are temporarily living with your mother while you save money to move to Paris! Today I'm thrilled to have lunch with Ellen, a delightful friend and colleague who is just plain fun to be with and a great support professionally - this week she gave me some great advice that helped me land a lucrative new client, so I'm buying lunch! But even without that, I was looking forward to seeing Ellen for the first time in several months -- and that got me thinking about how my mood is so easily lifted by my connections with my friends.
I'm a latecomer "fan" of the HBO series, Sex and the City, but what I like most about it is the relationship between the four lead characters. Even though they are all very different, they have a bond that is unshakable. That's what I love and appreciate about my own friends -- that whatever the reasons we ARE friends, and whatever our differences may be, each relationship is special to me BECAUSE of its uniqueness.
Everyone has a "best" friend, and mine has been Wendy for 20 years -- she's actually more of a soul-mate or soul-sister; the kind of friend where you don't even need words, you just have an understanding. (We are both secretly convinced that her oldest daughter is really MY child because she's so much like me!) We were roommates before she met and married her husband (a real sweetie) and subsequently had 4 (FOUR!) children -- neither of us saw THAT coming -- and we have the kind of friendship where we keep each other "real" by reminding one another of stupid or embarrassing things we did in our younger and wilder days.
Marlene is a wonderful friend I met through work years ago, another person where we just "get" each other and see eye to eye on many things. I commune twice a month with Carol and Christine by teleconference as we peer-coach each other: the time I get to spend with them is so worthwhile. I talk and email frequently with Maria, one of my "blog-sisters", whose entrepreneurial creativity inspires me constantly. Claire, Kathy and Nancy are friends from my childhood that I rarely see or talk to because they all live far away, but when we do get together it's like we never missed a day and we can pick up where we left off. Annie is a good friend that I met while working in my last corporate job, where we instantly hit it off -- NO one can make me laugh like Annie does, plus there's the added bonus of having some spiritual values in common (as I do with a number of my friends). And I don't even have the space to list by name all the other wonderful women I know professionally who are my support system and are a lot of fun to get together with at business functions. I am truly blessed when it comes to my friends.
I don't get to see my good friends as often as I'd like of course - we all lead our own busy lives. But connecting with them, in whatever way is possible even it it's only by e-mail, helps me stay grounded, centered and gives my spirits a huge lift.
So I am raising my virtual champagne glass (Veuve Clicquot of course) as I toast my "girlfriends", one and all. I wouldn't be who I am without each of you. Love ya, babe(s)!
