Girlfriends

The popular tv show Girlfriends showcases the every day lives of 4 women who are close friends. On the show 2 of then are friends since high school. The other 2 they meet on the way to adulthood. They are in their 30's and they seem to have a great friendship. Another show similar to Girlfriends is Sex and the City. Same sort of set up. 4 friends in their late 30's early 40's hanging out and taking NYC on....one man at a time.

Then there was the show Living Single; more girlfriends. Then "Friends" with more girlfriends. Then there are the movies like Waiting to Exhale.... more friends. All of the books I read have 3 or 4 close girlfriends dealing with whatever situation.

They spend holidays together. Cry over broken relationships together. Godmother to each others kids. Attend important events to support each other. I think it's fascinating how 4 women, who are often so different, are able to keep close friendships.

Of course I have great friends. Some very close friends. In college I had a crew. There were 6 of us that hung out all the time. It usually worked in pairs. If you did not see all 6 of us together you'd see 2 at a time or more. Looking back on that it was fun to have that solid circle of friends...who were also legitimate friends of each other as well. Of course there were some who liked others more or less but that's the deal in any situation. On the show Girlfriends Mya and Toni were not necessarily best girlfriends.

As I get older I have learned that aside from family your girlfriends will increasingly become important in your life. They will be there when you find a new man, again. And they will be there when he's gone, again. They will be there when the kids grow up and leave. They will be there when you have to bury your parents. They will be there when you become a grandma yourself. They will be there when you finally decide to quit that funky job. When you start your own business. When you celebrate your birthday. When you are just in town for a couple of days.

When you decide to cut all your hair off and he hates it; they'll say you look great. When you call them up and say he proposed! Or when you call them up and say it's over and I don't want to talk about it. Your girlfriends do all the requisite co-signing that is expected of girlfriends. You're seldom in the wrong and in those rare instances when you are in fact wrong, they'll still make it seem like it was the other person's fault.

Girlfriends. I recently blogged about becoming reacquainted with some of my girlfriends all the way back to elementary school. Some I've know all my life. You don't have to explain yourself or justify anything you've done. You can just be the same ol person from back in the day. And they get it. They understand, even if it's been 10 or 20+ years since you last saw each other. I'm also lucky to have made new friends. Some since college. While working that first job right out of school. Or the 2nd one. Or when you started working out at that gym. Joined that bookclub or church or sorority.

I have friends for all occasions. I call Kim if I want to say something stupid or completely inappropriate. I call Alifia when I'm being bougie. I call Renee when I'm being ghetto. I email Tippi when I run across elementary or h.s. friends. I email Imani when I see SIU folks. I talk to Andrea about the sorority stuff. I talk to TMN about the annoyances of work and Scott! Actually they ALL get an earful about Scott at some point. I call Nicole with church gossip. I talk to Nsenga about childhood. To Kimberly about that old boss.

Tomorrow I will be spending my birthday with my cousin who I've known all my life, 2 of my friends from elementary school, 1 friend I've known for 12 yrs and my coworker/friend I've known for 2 yrs. All together the fill up the cracks and crevices of my whole life. What a great thing God gave women, Girlfriends.