The Power of Girlfriends..
I got this in my inbox and although a tad cheesy I really wanted to share with all of my LIW 'Girlfriends'
A young wife sat on a porch in Waycross, Georgia on a summer day, drinking
iced tea and visiting with her mother. As they talked about life, about
marriage, about the responsibilities and the obligations of adulthood, the
mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear,
sober glance upon her daughter.
'Don't forget your girlfriends,' she advised, swirling the tea leaves to
the bottom of her glass. 'They'll be more important as you get older. No
matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the
children you'll have, you are still going to need girlfriends. Remember to
go places with them now and then; do things with them. And remember that
'girlfriends' are not only your friends, but your sisters, your daughters,
and other relatives too. You'll need other women. Women always do.'
'What a funny piece of advice,' the young woman thought. ' Haven't I just
gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married
woman, for goodness sake, a grown-up, not a young girl who needs
girlfriends! Surely my husband and the family we'll start will be all I
need to make my life worthwhile!'
But she listened to her Mother; she kept contact with her girlfriends and
made more each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she
gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking
about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a
woman, girlfriends are the mainstays of her life. After 50 years of living
in this world, here is what I know about girlfriends:
Girlfriends bring you casseroles and scrub your bathroom when you need help.
Girlfriends keep your children and keep your secrets. Girlfriends give
advice when you ask for it. Sometimes you take it, sometimes you don't.
Girlfriends don't always tell you that you're right, but they're usually
honest. Girlfriends still love you, even when they don't agree with your
choices. Girlfriends laugh with you, and you don't need canned jokes to
start the laughter. Girlfriends pull you out of jams. Girlfriends help you
get out of bad relationships. Girlfriends help you look for a new
apartment, help you pack, and help you move. Girlfriends will give a party
for your son or daughter when they get married or have a baby, in whichever
order that comes! ! Girlfriends are there for you, in an instant when the
hard times come. Girlfriends will drive through blizzards, rainstorms,
hail, heat, and the gloom of night to get to you when your hour of need is
desperate. Girlfriends listen when you lose a job or a friend. Girlfriends
listen when your children break your heart. Girlfriends listen when your
parents' minds and bodies fail. Girlfriends cry with you when someone you
loved dies. Girlfriends support you when the men in your life let you
down.
Girlfriends help you pick up the pieces when men pack up and go.
Girlfriends rejoice at what makes you happy, and are ready to go out and
kill what makes you unhappy.
Times passes. Life happens. Distance separates. Children grow up. Marriages
fail. Love waxes and wanes. Hearts break. Careers end. Jobs come and go.
Parents die. Colleagues forget favors. Men don't call when they say they
will. But girlfriends are there, no matter how much time and how many miles
are between you. A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her can
reach.
When you have to walk that lonesome valley, and you have to walk it for
yourself, your girlfriends will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on,
praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting
with open arms at the valley's end. Sometimes, they will even break the
rules and walk beside you. Or come in and carry you out.
My daughters, sisters, sisters-in-law, mother-in-law, nieces, cousins,
extended family, and friends bless my life! The world wouldn't be the same
without them, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called
womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead.
Nor did we know how much we would need each other. Every day, we need each
other still.
Pass this on to the women who help make your life work. I just did.
A young wife sat on a porch in Waycross, Georgia on a summer day, drinking
iced tea and visiting with her mother. As they talked about life, about
marriage, about the responsibilities and the obligations of adulthood, the
mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear,
sober glance upon her daughter.
'Don't forget your girlfriends,' she advised, swirling the tea leaves to
the bottom of her glass. 'They'll be more important as you get older. No
matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the
children you'll have, you are still going to need girlfriends. Remember to
go places with them now and then; do things with them. And remember that
'girlfriends' are not only your friends, but your sisters, your daughters,
and other relatives too. You'll need other women. Women always do.'
'What a funny piece of advice,' the young woman thought. ' Haven't I just
gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married
woman, for goodness sake, a grown-up, not a young girl who needs
girlfriends! Surely my husband and the family we'll start will be all I
need to make my life worthwhile!'
But she listened to her Mother; she kept contact with her girlfriends and
made more each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she
gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking
about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a
woman, girlfriends are the mainstays of her life. After 50 years of living
in this world, here is what I know about girlfriends:
Girlfriends bring you casseroles and scrub your bathroom when you need help.
Girlfriends keep your children and keep your secrets. Girlfriends give
advice when you ask for it. Sometimes you take it, sometimes you don't.
Girlfriends don't always tell you that you're right, but they're usually
honest. Girlfriends still love you, even when they don't agree with your
choices. Girlfriends laugh with you, and you don't need canned jokes to
start the laughter. Girlfriends pull you out of jams. Girlfriends help you
get out of bad relationships. Girlfriends help you look for a new
apartment, help you pack, and help you move. Girlfriends will give a party
for your son or daughter when they get married or have a baby, in whichever
order that comes! ! Girlfriends are there for you, in an instant when the
hard times come. Girlfriends will drive through blizzards, rainstorms,
hail, heat, and the gloom of night to get to you when your hour of need is
desperate. Girlfriends listen when you lose a job or a friend. Girlfriends
listen when your children break your heart. Girlfriends listen when your
parents' minds and bodies fail. Girlfriends cry with you when someone you
loved dies. Girlfriends support you when the men in your life let you
down.
Girlfriends help you pick up the pieces when men pack up and go.
Girlfriends rejoice at what makes you happy, and are ready to go out and
kill what makes you unhappy.
Times passes. Life happens. Distance separates. Children grow up. Marriages
fail. Love waxes and wanes. Hearts break. Careers end. Jobs come and go.
Parents die. Colleagues forget favors. Men don't call when they say they
will. But girlfriends are there, no matter how much time and how many miles
are between you. A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her can
reach.
When you have to walk that lonesome valley, and you have to walk it for
yourself, your girlfriends will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on,
praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting
with open arms at the valley's end. Sometimes, they will even break the
rules and walk beside you. Or come in and carry you out.
My daughters, sisters, sisters-in-law, mother-in-law, nieces, cousins,
extended family, and friends bless my life! The world wouldn't be the same
without them, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called
womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead.
Nor did we know how much we would need each other. Every day, we need each
other still.
Pass this on to the women who help make your life work. I just did.
