Friends - Best Friends!

I was raised an Air Force brat, and my daddy used to try to ease the pain of moving by telling me, "You don't make friends - you only make acquaintances." I spent most of my life living by that; however, now that I'm in the second half of the game, I have to disagree. And maybe there was some truth to what Daddy said. I think that, when we're younger, we don't place as much value or put as much energy into friendship as we do when we get older - or realize what it really means.

I have a wonderful group of girlfriends. These are people who laugh with me, cry with me, empathize, sympathize and - when the occasion calls for it - set me straight. We are honest with each other, support each other, and love each other in a way that I, as an only child, can only imagine that sisters would do. They are an eclectic bunch, as different as night and day, but they are all precious to me.

One is so like me in some ways that it's positively scary, yet different in many other ways. This is the person who "gets" me more than anyone else and we have an uncanny way of reading each other's minds. She has an aura of childlike innocence combined with a sassy sense of humor, and the sweetest personality of anyone I've ever known.

Another is loud and brassy, opinionated and passionate about everything from her relationships to her work and anything else that is a part of her life. She can have you belly laughing one minute and crying the next; and she will storm the gates of hell for you in prayer when you have a need.

One has the tenderest and most compassionate heart of anyone I have ever known and will not only get up in the middle of the night to listen if you need her to, but she'll also pull out the Kleenex and cry with you. She will give of herself until there's nothing left to give, then she'll dig down deep and give some more.

The fourth is a woman with a past who has been redeemed by Christ and has the strongest faith of anyone I've ever met. She won't stop praying for someone until after they've been embalmed and will kick you in the fanny if she thinks you've given up, but she is funny, thoughtful and loves lavishly.

I know that these women would do anything for me and they know that I'd do anything for them, and I'm just so grateful that I have them in my life.

In the movie, Fried Green Tomatoes, Mrs. Threadgoode says to Evelyn, "I found out what the secret to life is: Friends. Best Friends." I have to agree.