When we were young our friendships were primarily based on geography. Our circle of friends usually consisted of other girls (maybe even boys) that we saw on a regular basis. We may not have necessarily had anything in common besides the fact that we lived in the same neighborhood, went to the same school, worshiped at the same church, etc… Basically, most of the people in our lives were relationships of convenience.As we grew up and our world expanded, that changed. We didn’t just look at proximity when befriending someone, we began to look at personal qualities and also, maybe selfishly, what they could do for us.
As adults we either maintain our childhood friendships or put them in one of two categories; those we keep in touch with via the annual holiday card and those who we never hear from again. They were left in our past to make room for what I, and am sure many others, like to call our Girlfriends.
Girlfriends aren’t just friends who are female, they are your Girls. They are the women you count on each and every day. They are the women you tell your secrets to knowing you won’t be judged. They are the ones who you can always count on for the truth, yet are willing to lie to you until you’re ready to hear it. They are the women who have seen you cry and either helped wipe your tears or told you to suck it up. They are the ones that with whom you can always choose to agree to disagree.
Our Girlfriends aren’t just made up of women who are geographically convenient, in our adult lives, they are made up solely of those women who, whether near or far, we choose to allow into our lives, those who we relate to, understand, and with whom we feel an indescribable bond.
Our Girlfriends, our Girls, are those who were and are born out of the moment when, as C.S. Lewis said about friendship…
“… one person says to another: “What! You, too? Thought I was the only one.”
A Libby Blog 