GIRLFRIENDS

Girlfriends are one of the treasures of life. We make friends all the time throughout the years. Not all of them become "girlfriends", but some do and it is comforting to know they are there for you even if you don't see them very often. Remember all the girlfriends you had in high school and how after you graduated, everyone went their own way and some you never heard from again? We thought we would be friends like that forever, but then the realization hits you that you haven't heard from them for a long time, and, gee, what kind of friendship is that? It's happened to all of us. My family moved away from the town in Kansas where I grew up when I was in the middle of my Junior year in high school. I had to leave my girlfriends there and never bonded with anyone the way I had with them when I went to my new school. Over the years after high school, I saw my Kansas girlfriends a handful of times, but it wasn't until the last 8 years or so that we have all connected again and I see them at least once a year. There are 3 of them and two of them live within a few miles of each other so we take turns staying overnight with those two. You know the best thing about staying the night with old friends? You can get up and go to breakfast without combing your hair or putting your makeup on. They don't care....they're just glad to see you. And another thing, their husbands all like you and the girls like your husband. We all married good and altho the guys probably would never admit it out loud, THEY married good, too. On a recent trip, all 4 couples were sitting around talking and the conversation got around to all our health problems, medications, etc. One of the girls mentioned that someone said years ago that we would never sit around and talk about those things like our parents did. Yet, there we were...doing just that. Maybe friendships should adopt the HIPA regulation system that says we can't let others know what's wrong with us or what we're taking for it. Naw!!! That's what friends are for, to see you through your miseries and give you courage and comfort and, yes, sympathy for what you're going through. I can talk to my girlfriends about anything and vice-versa. And we all know, what we say won't go any further than that friend's ear. That's my girlfriends and I cherish all of them. Thanks for your friendship and love, Suzi, Rosalee and Rosemarie. You are truly treasures to me.