Those Around Us

It's a well known fact that the people you hang out with will have the strongest impact on the kind of life you lead.  This is why parents try to steer their children towards decent friends.  As a teen I always had those kind of friends mainly because the other kind scare me...I'm not adventurous.  Then, once married, I was discouraged from having girlfriends because it bothered my husband.  I should never have allowed myself to be influenced that way but I did and it cost me dearly.  Good girlfriends are worth their weight in gold...they will have your back when no-one else will and they will give you advice you might desperately need to hear.

Anyway, once I broke those unfair ties and began gathering a few girlfriends, it just felt so good.  A woman will understand you better than any man can.  You can be freer in your conversation with a woman because they do understand.  Don't get me wrong, I do love the company of a man but the conversation will always be different than with women.  Men just aren't as esoteric.  I hope I got the meaning of that word right...I mean deep thinking and I can't find my dictionary.

I've been very selective with my lady friends.  It takes me a while to figure them out and I can't deal with dishonesty in any form so, if you're my friend, you're a pretty wonderful person.  It's a big mistake for a husband or boyfriend to deter his lady from having contact with her friends because that contact is what rounds her out.  I found that a close lady friend will tell you the brutal truth but spoken in gentle and kind words.  We all need to hear the brutal truth once in a while.

As I get older, so do my lady friends, and it worries me I might start losing them.  Some are like sisters to me and it will be a horrible thing to lose even one of them.  But then it might be me who goes first.  Life goes on no matter how much you might think it ends with you.  My hope is that my daughters have learned the great value of good girlfriends in their lives...I believe they have!

Anyway, choose your friends wisely and they will enhance your life.