Girlfriends… keep you grounded…
And the list is endless for all the ways to describe your ‘real’ girlfriends. In my spare time recently I was reading about Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner from the Game of Thrones.
Seeing some of the photos posted of their friendship – coined lovingly – ‘#Mophie’ – I think of my own ‘girlfriends’ who really are my ‘tribe’; who keep me grounded. I was blessed to have grown up in 3 different countries in 4 different schools.
My Girlfriends …
Even after having travelled so much and now living in my 4th country – my very first ‘best’ friend (age 4 – Kuwait) and I are still in touch, my next ‘best’ friend (age 8 – Kuwait) has her teenage daughter coming to stay with me next month! My next ‘bff’ (age 14 – Los Angeles) – she has twin girls a year younger than my twin boys and they are 4 peas in a pod when they meet! I recently called her to review my life since I was 14 to now… a check sometimes one needs to ensure you’re back on track should you have strayed. ‘Bff/sister’ (age 15-Los Angeles) and I got our first tattoo together –the same one in the same place! And then ‘bff/sister (age 16-Los Angeles) stayed by my side for almost 12 hours during my labour in the UK! My new ‘girlies’ (age 32 – London) are my ‘tribe’ – my support, my fun, my conscience of being a married woman and a mother living in the UK.
Together with all these wonderful friendships- I have had my amazing mother as well as the support of the wonderful women – my aunts who have been great role models!
Someone needs a friend…
I’ve met many people especially in my work that no longer have this ‘tribe’ and have to be strong for themselves and rely on themselves and are now just plain exhausted. They’ve been let down by their ‘besties’ at some point in their life. My heart goes out to them.
As a girl/daughter/wife/mother/woman – I don’t know where I would be without these fine ladies in my life. We have laughed together, cried together, celebrated the best times of our lives together, relied on each other, held hands, cooked together through all that this beautiful and sometimes roller coaster life has brought our way.
Go be that ‘friend’ today…
Ladies… there isn’t anything more special than the trust you can have in another woman, in the guidance you can get from your peers. It’s such an honour and privilege to be that person in someone’s life. To know you can be trusted AND that you can expect the same. To fall back on them and know they’ve got your back too. These ‘friends’ are also our mothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, in-laws and out-laws!. It’s the beauty of women respecting each other and being the wind beneath someone’s wings!
It’s these relationships that keep us grounded when we fly; to keep us real when we stray, to hold us when we are heartbroken, the guide us when we feel lost. It’s such a ‘high’ when you can do all of that and more for another.
Yes – you go through moments when it’s not all so perfect, when there’s jealousy and competition, misunderstandings, boyfriends/husbands we can’t tolerate. But hey… we are only human. It’s getting over the pettiness and ‘feeling’ the bigger picture of that relationship and bringing it back to its integrity that matters.
By having these key relationships in our lives – we indirectly enhance our children’s lives and subconsciously instil some amazing values in them.
#Best Friends = #Grounding. #Healing. #Loving. #Trusting. #Guiding. #Balance.
This is the first step to ‘Wellness’. Surrounding yourself with the best of yourself, the best of the best for your best self. And yes, let go of the ones who don’t fulfil this unspoken contract – that’s the first step to ‘Self-Care’.