Girlfriends

with my best friend Hayley and my sister Briony

Browsing through the blogs this week, Shannon over at Awash with Wonder really hit the nail on the head for me with this post.  A couple of weeks ago I posted about missing my friend Loreto who I hadn't seen for a couple of weeks and how I felt I was lacking a certain social contact.  I need to be more careful in what I say as Nico got a little worried about me.  It's not that I was down or depressed or that he wasn't enough for me - I mean he's amazing and puts up with me 24/7!  It was just that I need a little girly contact and having girl friends is a huge part of (I think) any girl's life.  

with my school friends

My girlfriends are some of the best in the world and have been with me through thick and thin and as much as I try to keep things on the level with Skype calls and gift packages, I really miss my English girlfriends.  This is one reason why my friends here are so important to me, because after a year with very little girl time, I now have someone to drink coffee loudly with, to swap clothes/books/DVDs with and someone who doesn't mind traipsing round a million shops with me and ending up back in the first one.   Let's face it, most boyfriends must be relieved we have girlfriends to do that with as it gets them out of a lot!  

with my Spanish bestie

As Shannon also points out, the best thing about girlfriends is that you can have a whole gang of them so they don't have to be perfect at everything like your boyfriend does.  I have my go to friends for advice, cheering up, fashion advice, cinema trips, the list is endless.  Another of the great things about friends is that you can always find new ones too.  I have 'collected' several groups of friends over time - the school friends, university friends, college friends, work friends...  The best thing is when I go home now and have to get different groups together for catch ups, seeing how they get on with each other and form new friendships also makes me happy.

with the Erasmus girls

Of course it makes me sad to lose friends sometimes or to lose touch with them but I do believe in fate and here's a poem that really resonates with me:

Reason, Season, or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.

It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

— Unknown

I'm raising a glass to all my girlfriends this weekend - past, present and future, wherever they are right now.