Girlfriends....

Sarah, my wonderful daughter just turned 12. She is in the 6th grade, and (ugh!) this is the age in which some girls begin to show their true...nasty...colors. Whether it is getting upset because one girl played with someone else today, or the sulking and and game playing and saying things like "I'll forgive you, when you figure out why I am mad and apologize" (Yes, Sarah actually had a friend say that yesterday.) Do you remember Adolescence? I don't know about the rest of you, but I remember it vividly...as a horror movie. I hated my early teen years. I guess the good thing is I can coach her on how to handle it better than I did. What I really love is Sarah trusts me and actually listens and takes my advice. I hope that continues for many years to come. If I could only do those years over...ACKKKK! What am I saying...?

Anyway...that isn't exactly why I am writing today. As I had a long conversation yesterday about how awful girls can be and how Sarah can avoid the pitfalls of it all...from avoiding gossip... understanding that if one friend is talking bad about their other friend to Sarah, she probably talks badly about Sarah to the other friends, and if one girl is nicer, smarter than the other girls, they will likely not like her because she is nicer and smarter...Go figure...And how to be nice and friendly to all people yet set boundaries and not be a doormat... Ah, so much to tell and so little time.

Well as I was telling her all this stuff, I began to use some of my friends as examples...of how there are some friends who just don't do that. And I realized that I am truly blessed to have, instead of lots and lots of friends, a handful of girlfriends who are truly my friends. Who NEVER make me feel like a doormat, who don't mind if I play with my other friends, who don't play passive/aggressive head games with me, and who don't mind if I AM cuter than them (Inside joke for Paige). But really, some of you read my blog. Some I don't talk to as often as I would like, but I still love because I know you are sincere and good and not like those women I was warned about as a kid growing up. When it comes down to it women can be women's worst enemy with all the competition, gossip, and game playing that goes on. But Women can also be women's best asset when you have girlfriends like I do. So to all my girlfriends...thanks for being the kind of people I could use as an example of true friends to my daughter. Thanks for letting her see what true girlfriends are all about.