Guest guest Posted November 28, 2001 Report Share Posted November 28, 2001 > > Thought I'd pass this on to some good " girlfriends " ! > > To my girlfriends... > > > > Young and newly married, I relaxed under a pecan tree on a hot Texas > > summer day, drinking iced tea and getting to know my new sister-in-law, > > Estelle. Not much older than I, but already the mother of three, Estelle > > seemed to me experienced and wise. " Get yourself some girlfriends, > > Lacreta, " she advised, clinking the ice cubes in her glass. " You are > going > > to need girlfriends. Go places with them; do things with them. " > > What a funny piece of advice, I thought. Hadn't I just gotten married? > > Hadn't I just joined the couple-world? I was a married woman, for > goodness > > sake, not a young girl who needed girlfriends. But I listened to this new > > sister-in-law. I got myself some girlfriends. > > As the years tumbled by, one after another, gradually I came to > understand > > that Estelle knew what she was talking about. I remembered that she had > > said the word " girlfriends " with emphasis. As I went along, I discovered > > the subtle difference between friends and girlfriends. You go to work > with > > friends, go to dinner with friends, go to church with friends, belong to > > clubs with friends. You send friends greeting cards. You need friends in > > your life; all girlfriends were once only friends. But a girlfriend is > > different. > > > > A girlfriend is not " just like a sister. " Sisters have a distinct > > bond,sometimes good, sometimes bad. Sisters flow from family attachment; > > girlfriends choose each other. A sister also can be a girlfriend. As a > > thank-you to my sister-in-law and to the other girlfriends in my life, I > > offer this praise of girlfriends. > > > > Here is what I know about girlfriends: > > > > Girlfriends don't compete. > > Girlfriends bring casseroles and scrub your bathroom when you are sick. > > Girlfriends keep your children, and keep your secrets. > > Girlfriends give advice when you ask for it. Sometimes you take it, > > sometimes you > > don't. > > Girlfriends don't always tell you that you are right. > > Girlfriends might send you a birthday card, but they might not. It does > > not matter in > > the least. > > Girlfriends laugh with you and you don't need canned jokes to start the > > laughter. Girlfriends don't yammer about you behind your back. > > Girlfriends pull you out of jams. > > Girlfriends don't keep a calendar that lets them know who hosted the > other > > last. Girlfriends will give a party for your son or daughter when they > get > > married or have a baby in whichever order that comes! > > And girlfriends are there for you, in an instant and truly, when the hard > > times come. Girlfriends listen when you lose a job or a husband. > > Girlfriends listen when your children break your heart. > > Girlfriends listen when your parents' minds and bodies fail. > > My girlfriends bless my life. > > Once we were young, with no idea of the incredible joys or the incredible > > sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each > other. > > I want to tell younger women to take my sister-in-law's advice. Get > > yourself some girlfriends. > > You are going to need them. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 28, 2001 Report Share Posted November 28, 2001 > > Thought I'd pass this on to some good " girlfriends " ! > > To my girlfriends... > > > > Young and newly married, I relaxed under a pecan tree on a hot Texas > > summer day, drinking iced tea and getting to know my new sister-in-law, > > Estelle. Not much older than I, but already the mother of three, Estelle > > seemed to me experienced and wise. " Get yourself some girlfriends, > > Lacreta, " she advised, clinking the ice cubes in her glass. " You are > going > > to need girlfriends. Go places with them; do things with them. " > > What a funny piece of advice, I thought. Hadn't I just gotten married? > > Hadn't I just joined the couple-world? I was a married woman, for > goodness > > sake, not a young girl who needed girlfriends. But I listened to this new > > sister-in-law. I got myself some girlfriends. > > As the years tumbled by, one after another, gradually I came to > understand > > that Estelle knew what she was talking about. I remembered that she had > > said the word " girlfriends " with emphasis. As I went along, I discovered > > the subtle difference between friends and girlfriends. You go to work > with > > friends, go to dinner with friends, go to church with friends, belong to > > clubs with friends. You send friends greeting cards. You need friends in > > your life; all girlfriends were once only friends. But a girlfriend is > > different. > > > > A girlfriend is not " just like a sister. " Sisters have a distinct > > bond,sometimes good, sometimes bad. Sisters flow from family attachment; > > girlfriends choose each other. A sister also can be a girlfriend. As a > > thank-you to my sister-in-law and to the other girlfriends in my life, I > > offer this praise of girlfriends. > > > > Here is what I know about girlfriends: > > > > Girlfriends don't compete. > > Girlfriends bring casseroles and scrub your bathroom when you are sick. > > Girlfriends keep your children, and keep your secrets. > > Girlfriends give advice when you ask for it. Sometimes you take it, > > sometimes you > > don't. > > Girlfriends don't always tell you that you are right. > > Girlfriends might send you a birthday card, but they might not. It does > > not matter in > > the least. > > Girlfriends laugh with you and you don't need canned jokes to start the > > laughter. Girlfriends don't yammer about you behind your back. > > Girlfriends pull you out of jams. > > Girlfriends don't keep a calendar that lets them know who hosted the > other > > last. Girlfriends will give a party for your son or daughter when they > get > > married or have a baby in whichever order that comes! > > And girlfriends are there for you, in an instant and truly, when the hard > > times come. Girlfriends listen when you lose a job or a husband. > > Girlfriends listen when your children break your heart. > > Girlfriends listen when your parents' minds and bodies fail. > > My girlfriends bless my life. > > Once we were young, with no idea of the incredible joys or the incredible > > sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each > other. > > I want to tell younger women to take my sister-in-law's advice. Get > > yourself some girlfriends. > > You are going to need them. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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