Sunday, March 14, 2021

SOL21 Slice 14: Women friends

 



I am participating in the
All participants are sharing stories about moments in their lives, writing 
 every day for the month of March 2021.
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for nurturing teacher-writers!



I put down my phone with a big smile on my face, and take a quick glance at the time - oh my, that was an hour. So fun!

My girlfriends 
my women friends 
my gal pals
my good buddies
my besties
oh, my, I don't have one word for these friendships, but I know how they make me feel inside - and how essential they have been for me throughout this pandemic. 

I am blessed to have a best buddy from high school and a best buddy from college that have stayed oh so close to me all my life . . . not physically (both live pretty far away) but emotionally close . . . yes, for more than 40 years now. That's pretty special. I have made close friendships since high school and college, too . . . I find myself giving best friend qualifier statements, "my dearest friend when the kids were young," "my bestie from work," "my neighborhood gal pal," well, you get the idea. What do these women have in common? We are truly connected. We always make time for one another. We - without a doubt - have the gift of gab with one another, sharing confidences and taking time to shore one another up when life happens to be hard. 

I hold onto friendships, as best I can. I mean, let's be real, friendships are like romances - they take two people, interested, present, and committed.  One person does not a friendship make! I try my best to reach out and be there for others, and I am so blessed that it has been mutual many times over. 

These friendships have been the soft, healing balm of this pandemic. 

Whether 
phonecalls, FaceTime, Zoom gatherings,
masked walks six feet apart,
long, winding, solitary walks wearing headphones, to talk,
texts, emails, 
letter-writing,

I have been held and lifted by my women friends. They have provided me sanity, patience, reality-checks, honesty, empathy, laughter, a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, escape . . . everything I need. 

What would I do without them?  




"Women understand. We may share experiences, make jokes, paint pictures, and 
describe humiliations that mean nothing to men, but women understand
The odd thing about these deep and personal connections of women is that
they often ignore barriers of age, economics, worldly experience, race,
culture - all the barriers that in male or mixed society had seemed so difficult to cross."
- Gloria Steinem

7 comments:

  1. Maureen, what a lovely tribute to your many friends! I love the way you describe all your best friends with special qualifiers: "my dearest friend when the kids were young," "my bestie from work," "my neighborhood gal pal" Perfect!

    Thanks for the encouragement. I always appreciate the quotes you find to end your posts. This one about women understanding by Gloria Steinem is great. Thanks!

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    1. Thanks, Denise! I am having fun searching for "just the right quote" for my posts ;-)

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  2. I love the Gloria Stein quote and think about how so much time can pass but the friendship remains. I’ve not always been goid about nurturing friendships, so this is kind of a kick in the seat of the pants for me to reach out and check on some friends. I love all your friend descriptors. It’s best to have many besties!

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    1. I think with 'real' friends, it doesn't matter how much time has gone by since you've last connected, you just pick up where you left off. I love that!

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  3. This is a special post! I appreciate this sentiment and have some very special women in my life whose friendships I know will continue with me through all the seasons!

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    1. Thanks, Maggie! Yes, our women friends stick with us, through it all!

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