It’s funny that this week’s topic is “Friends” because I was thinking a lot about that this week. I moved to New York last September and it was a struggle to meet new people. I’m a bit shy at first and the fact that it was winter and everyone was hibernating, didn’t help. Isn’t it funny how friends come in and out of our lives? You have childhood friends that seem to disappear as your grow up, teenage friends who have the same interests as you, and then you have adult friends that are in the same stage of life as you. Ya know, married friends, single friends, or friends that have children, depending on where you are in your life. And then there are those friends that have been there forever and never left your side no matter what stage of life you are in. They may not be close, distance wise, but they are always there when you need them. Those friends are rare. And I can count how many of those I have on one hand.
I have friends in each of those categories listed above. But the forever friends are scarce. I’ve learned through my life, that some friends are short term, some friends are fair-weather, some are just acquaintances, and some are true. This past weekend, I went on a mini weekend getaway to the ocean. I used to live there about 10 years ago. It was there that I met one of my best friends. At the time, I was a 17 year old girl who was working at a store to make some extra cash. I wasn’t excited about the job but if I had known that this place would be the start to a great friendship, I wouldn’t have minded it as much.
We became the best of friends and hung out everyday. When I moved away, we lost touch for awhile. This past weekend, I got to see her again for the first time in a long time. It was nice to catch up. We picked up exactly where we left off. I love that kind of friendship. In life, there are no guarantees. The friends that I vowed to never separate from, I barely talk to anymore. And some of my newer friends are the closest to me. The fact is, throughout our lives, people come in and bring us joy, laughter, comfort and advice. They are friends. Some of them stay a life time, others only a short time. But regardless, if they are true friends, they bring us happiness in some way.
I read somewhere that girls who have a social life and go out with their girlfriends at least once a week are less depressed and happier than those girls who don’t visit with their friends as much. I believe that. After a night out with my girls, stress seems to lift off of me. I think about Carrie Bradshaw sitting out with her girlfriends in the city, for dinner, and I immediately feel the need to throw a GNO! I feel like friends are a really important part of life. So cheers to my girls! The ones who were there in my past, the ones who are still here and the ones who are yet to come! I love you all!!
JB, KG, EF, EK, BC, SS, LF, AS, SF, AK, DP, CL, AP, MW, KH and EH.
