Girl power!

The definition of a woman is: - human adult female. A simple definition however I believe that this definition may have sold us a little short. I think maybe in the words of Freud it may be that simple, however in my eyes and in the eyes of many of us it is much more and let me tell you how I see the power of female friendship.

Recently, I had the privilege of catching up with many of my long term girlfriends some of whom I don’t see enough and some whom I see regularly. My excuse and though I dislike the word ‘excuse’ as it has an intentional ‘neglectful’ ring to it which is not the case, is that our lives are simply varied and very busy and catching up seems to sometimes involve a military manoeuvre and even then sometimes things don’t work out. Some of my girlfriends work full-time, part-time, or don’t work at all, have children who have completed their education and are now in the working world and some of us aren’t quite there yet and so our lives are scrambled a little however the intent to get together is always there.

Oh and don’t get me wrong, I have some great male friends too but there is a line you have to draw when it comes to discussing certain topics with them and sometimes it just comes down to a topic where they have absolutely no idea what I am even talking about, like……..brands of lipstick and lipstick colours. There has been many a social occasion where I have felt compelled to leave my circle of female acquaintances and meander to the male section of the room for some far more intellectually stimulating conversation whether the topic is football, the state of the economy, the stock market or whatever. I have no trouble contributing to any of these topics and at times find it far more exciting rather than discussing the price I would pay for the latest Givenchy dress seen in the latest magazine costing $3000 (of which I own none of and would rather sew up my own look alike – yes I do sew - than pay a king’s ransom for a piece of fabric who’s price could feed a small nation. Look I am the granddaughter of a Scottish lass and am married to a Scot……some would say ‘tight’……I say smart.)

Friendship is a self-chosen act and female friendships are incredibly powerful. I have had friends in my circle that I have moved on from due to choice and I think I can say that of most of the population. I have a dear friend in my circle of friends whom I started year one with and so it is what we are left with for the majority of our lives that we hold dear when it comes to true female friends. Those ones you can discuss just about everything with; you know like…….how the eldest child has just been given the old family car and how worried sick my girlfriend is every time he picks up those keys and the “oh, I know exactly what you mean” coming from the mouths of those who have experienced the same; or discussing who is going to which rellies (relatives) house for Christmas and how stressful that whole occasion can be and how we are sure that JC’s intentions were not to create such chaos at his birthday time (we Catholics are a funny lot); or how our hubbies spend so much time at work and are exhausted and can any of you suggest the best place to go for a weekend break, just the two of us, preferably where there is no internet connection so that work laptops have to be left behind etc etc. Ladies, you ‘get’ what I am talking about. Of course, our conversations get far deeper than these and some girlfriends will talk about anything and some of us do have a line that will be drawn and that is OK. It doesn’t matter what the topic is or whether the rest of us have had any experience in that area, we are all hear for each other and will offer the best solution we can, because we care and we are female and we give birth and we love our families and we are fearless and we are awesome.

I often say to my girls that boyfriends will come and boyfriends will go, but girlfriends, true girlfriends, will always be there for you. So nurture those friends and be choosy and if there are some who don’t give you the right ‘vibe’ then it is ok to move on from them because others will come along and join you through your life.

So to all of my gorgeous girlfriends out there, I just want you all to know that I do cherish our friendships, regardless of how often we catch up; I do treasure your honesty and love the individuality of each of you; I do appreciate your advice on a variety of so many of life’s situations from lipstick colours right up to dealing with hardships we all experience at some stage. For all of this, I say thank you for being at the end of that phone, or replying to those emails, or turning up when invited and making me laugh. There is nothing like the power of true female friendship, in my eyes anyway.