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 tealeaves 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 nieces, 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 grownup, 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 gree 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 waxesand
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 irlfriends 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. Orcome
in and carry you out.
My cousins, nieces, aunts, sisters-in-law,
mother-in-law, 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.
27 °C
