Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Lifelong friends

When I was pregnant the first time, a woman at my church introduced me to several other women who also were expecting their first child.

We all gave birth only a few weeks apart, and those were the women who became my support system. We had play dates. We went to the park and the zoo. We walked around the mall together. We met for lunch. We compared notes on diapers, breast feeding, baby food, first words and first steps.



Two of these ladies had little girls, and those girls became the first friends of my baby boy.

Over the years, we all had more children. Several of them also were born just weeks apart. The siblings became the first friends of the siblings.

Our lives went in different directions at times. At other times, we have veered back on to a common path.

Despite the gender difference, my son counts those girls as his lifelong friends. Of course, the girls have grown close in ways a little boy can never be part of. And he has made lots of boy friends with whom he spends more time.

But they are still the ones he wants around when something special happens, like his birthday this week.

From the photos, it might look like those little babies grew this much over NINE YEARS. Oh, no. Believe me. It happened in a BLINK!



My son loves that these are his "baby friends". He has known them his whole life.

Don’t you love those kind of friends?

The ones who have known you forever.

You can pick up right where you left off even if it’s been months or years.

They get you. You can tells stories about each other that no one else would understand.

You can feel completely at ease. You can be yourself. You don’t have to prove anything.

Today, I’m thankful for lifelong friends. For mine. And for those of my kids.

What are you thankful for today?


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6 comments:

  1. They really are the best kinds of friends. They "get" you, and know your heart in a way that others don't seem to try to do.

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  2. I just got in touch with some lifelongs that I haven't seen since Jr. High. You are totally right. We get each other and can talk just like no time passed.

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  3. Nice post Emily! I love this one!
    :)

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  4. Mine have friends like that. Precious.

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  5. We have friends like that too... we moved away a few years ago but still keep in touch with them... they're the kids Auntie & Uncle... our boys were born in August & our girls were born in May - only they had their girl first... my son has decided he's going to marry their daughter! I'm thankful for friends like that...
    I also have a friend here who was the first person I met when we moved to Spiritwood in 1980! That's damn near 30 years!! Wow... and yes, we can pick up right where we left off like no time has passed at all...
    Friends like that are amazing!
    Laurel

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  6. I love that Josiah and Chandler are 'baby friends' for each other, too. Kara and I started our friendship when Chandler was just born and Josiah was still 'cooking'....treasured friends!

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