Girlfriends....What Would Life be Without Them?

Here is the way I will use the slices of orange that I dried. A loaf of lemon bread to share with friends.

Well, today is Saturday and I am going out to lunch with girlfriends. Girlfriends are vital for all women. Female friendships are precious to married women. Whether their girlfriends are married or single, grandmas, mothers or childless, they are the people that we find our precious moments of reprieve with. We can let down our hair. We can let down our guard. We can be selfish. We can crack jokes. We can be ourselves and relax. You've heard us in restaurants...peals of laughter will be heard from a table in the back. You turn around and see women laughing and having the best time. Hugging and listening...caring for each other. Married women need female friends for their coffee breaks, their girl's night out or just their morning walks. They need them when they take their children or grandchildren to the park. We talk about our kids and grand kids. I can remember times when my two best friends had grandchildren...before I did. They would talk and talk about these precious babies. Oh, how I wanted a grand baby. I would listen...trying not to be jealous. When finally I was a grandma...I could relate and do a bit of bragging too. Female friends let married women take a break from being Super Mom and Super Wife and Super Grandma. They can be women. They can relate. They can talk about issues with each other that they can rarely talk with others about. We get older and the friendships are still there. More precious than ever. By this time, we have found who our true friends are. They are the ones who are with us through troubled times as well as joyful ones. They are there for us the minute we need them. One of my friends is going through a really tough time right now. Her husband is ill and she is caring for him lovingly. It's a full time job.Finding out how to take care of the "outside" things as well as the inside jobs. I admire her and hope that she knows that I am there for her. We meet as couples for lunch and she and I meet for breakfast, when she can get away. Another friend is busy...busy with her family and job, but still finds time to come out to my house and visit with me. We meet, rarely, for lunch like we will today. We are getting together with an old mutual friend who lives in my town. They are meeting at my house and we will go to a restaurant in my town. We only have a few hours...so we will have a lot of talking and catching up to do. We are the "girls" and will always be. We may be old and have gray hair...but we are still the "girls."

Balisha