When I think about my female friends I see a mental montage of the current ladies I value most, followed quickly by snapshots of various friendships I’ve held in different parts of life. There are some key moments that make it clear that female friendships will always matter to moms, and motherhood has provided so many of those moments to me. When I stop to think about the friendships that have meant the most to me, I see my elementary school friends who didn’t judge my giant glasses, middle school friends who were especially tolerant of my boy-crazy tendencies, college friends and work friends who tentatively ventured into adulthood alongside me, and now mom friends, who understand how I’m feeling when my son sheds tears over chocolate-covered graham crackers.
I’m lucky to have a small handful of women who’ve been with me through multiple stages of my life (and plenty that weren’t), and still some more that are a bit newer to me but who I hope stay around for whatever comes next. Having a second child? Having school-age kids? Juggling family and mid-career developments I’m not even considering yet? Trying find time to make it to one of those Backstreet Boys cruises? Please, someone send help. I’m overwhelmed just thinking of it.