The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.
These are my girlies. The ones I can turn to with reports of pounds lost (4.2 this week, woohoo!!!!), pounds gained, frustrations, triumphs, woman troubles, everything. And they can do the same to me. These are the friends who have become like family to me.
I have always had a close relationship with my family, and when I first moved away from home, I still went home pretty much every week. When I moved from Ohio to Pennsylvania, it slowed a little, but it was still pretty regular. However, when I got engaged, and we bought the house in Kittanning, it became clear that I would not get to visit home nearly as often as I had once enjoyed. Luckily, Hubby came packaged with a great set of friends, who included some of the most fabulous women I met in my life. The two lovely ladies you see with me above are E and J, whom I so often rave about. They have helped fill the gap, keep me from missing my family as much as I would have, and helped me feel more at home in my new town.
These days, when something happens, I usually call my mom (I know my sister is uber busy, what with working, full time school raising two kids, oh yeah and moving into a new house, so I figure she will get the low down from my mom), and then E and J. I still remember the first time we all really hung out, which was just before my wedding. Both girls helped me decorate the hall too, and then for many months, we did not really hang out much or get to know each other. Then, one day, things just fell into place, and wonderful life long friendships were forged. I am so blessed to have these women in my life.
I love that these women feel they can turn to me for advice or encouragement, and I can do the same with them. So often I think women see each other as competition, and feel the need to be catty, but this never occurs with these ladies. We feel real joy for each others' successes, and sorrow for each others' losses.
Thank you ladies, for the blessing of your friendship.
