BFFs

I have the most fabulous friends on the planet. I cannot imagine doing life without my BFFs. We laugh together and we cry together and sometimes we laugh till we cry together. Old friends take time – they take energy. There is lots to do in order to have an old friend: lots of talking; lots of listening; lots of laughing; lots of crying; lots of understanding; lots of excitement; lots of joy; lots of love.

My MIL, who recently celebrated 90 fabulous years young, talks about her BFFs frequently. She has known these women who she has played bridge with and gone to circle meetings and garden club with nearly her entire life. The group is not as big as it once was – many of them have now passed away. However, the ones that are left are still close and they still make time once a month to meet and show each other the love that has grown over the years. These women know each other’s family, they know their daughter’s phone numbers; they know where their sons work; where their friends keep their secret recipes; their favorite color; their favorite flower. They know all the stories – all the good times and all the bad times. There is a lifetime of beautiful, fabulous memories between them and I have learned so much from listening to her stories about these women whom most I have never met.

Real friendship is when your friend comes over to your house and you both just want to watch Friends and take a nap.

I spent this past weekend with one of my dearest friends. We are much the same as the older women as we have known each other since our early 20s. She is such an easy person to be around – our time is so laid back and fun. There are never any plans or expectations. We do what we want to do at the time. We got our nails done, we went grocery shopping, we cooked dinner together while we sang songs and danced in the kitchen. We made new memories while laying on the sofa watching old episodes of Friends. She likes Chandler the best and my favorite is Joey. I like to crochet and do crafts while she is a trivia queen. I like to bake, she makes the world’s best mac + cheese. Our styles could not be any different: she loves pretty clothes, purses, and shoes and I’m happy in my hippie clothes and my jeans and Tractor Supply boots. We love each other’s kids and parents. She is a grandfriend to my grandkids. She doesn’t usually like dogs that much but lets my dog give her kisses ON THE FACE! We go together. Somehow. We have made many memories together and I hope, just like my MIL and her girlfriends, that we make many many more together.

As I was looking for photos to use for this post, I kept running across photos of my other BFF – Lola the Showgirl. I should say, my MIL, husband, and I have this BFF. This little dog loves us all unconditionally. She is always happy to see us and makes all three of us feel loved. We argue about who she is going to sit with at night to watch TV. We all worry over when she has last had something to eat and drink and if she needs to go outside to do her business. I sit in the kitchen floor and hand feed this furball of joy. I have dropped to my knees in a public restroom to pray that she would be ok when we found out that she had liver disease. I bought this beautiful BFF of mine a sweater and a raincoat. I’m totally in love with her. She reminds me of the other BFFs in my life and how our relationship is bound by love and trust and memories.