I went to a ladies Christmas tea this past weekend; I had been looking forward to it all year long! One of my
best friends organizes a tea every year at Christmas for a small group of ladies. Sometimes it's at her
beautiful home, and sometimes it's at a tea house. This year we went
to Lady Anne's Tea House in Stuart (http://www.ladyannstearoom.com/).
The tea isn't just about having tea
together; it's a time to fellowship, to eat delicious food, to share
presents, and to relax in an atmosphere that is totally filled with
Christmas spirit. A time to laugh, share stories, and just catch up.
I always come away from this special time together refreshed. I look
forward to it every year at this time. We actually already reserved
our date for next year at the same place!
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My first bestie, Kathy, 1969 |
Like I said, it's more about friendship
than anything else. You know, I wasn't one of the popular girls
during my school years. I was actually the “geeky” one, the one
the other kids made fun of. I was painfully shy, pretty smart; had
freckles & red hair, wore glasses, and didn't dress in the most
stylish of clothing. I wore whatever my mother bought me. I don't
have very fond memories of my school days. To say I didn't have many
friends is an understatement. But there was one friend I had, who was
my neighbor. We met when we were 7 & 8 years old. We were
besties. We shared our childhood together until I was 15 and moved
away to another state. I thought I would just die at the time. We
kept in touch even though we were so far away from each other. We
visited occasionally, but led lives now separate from each other.
Eventually we both got married, had kids, and we actually lost touch
for a few years. She found me again one day, many years later, to
tell me of the death of her father. We reconnected again and it felt
like we had never lost touch. I am so very glad to have her in my
life once again, and now that we're both grandmas we get to share our grandchildren together.


I've a handful of close friends who
mean the world to me. I know a lot of people, but the handful of
women I call close friends, they're a pretty incredible group of
women. They've been there for me through some pretty tough times.
Even though there was little they could do for me as my son was on
the brink of death on and off for 16 months, I knew I could count on
them for whatever I needed. When I was reeling from the divorce from
my first husband, my childhood best friend flew down to be with me as I faced my first Christmas alone after being married 12 years with 2 little children to take care
of. I couldn't hardly get out of bed in the mornings, and had no
desire to celebrate any holiday. But she came to be with me, to hold
my hand, to let me cry on her shoulder, and helped me bring a tree
home and decorated it with us. And another close friend, whom I met
when our children were little, helped get me through the ordeal
of my divorce. There were times I could hardly breathe, never mind eat. Most days I would spend with
her at her home while she comforted me, cried with me, and even fed me. If I wasn't at her home, I was on the phone with
her. Many years later, it was I who was doing the same for her, as
she went through the same ordeal. There are too many stories to tell about all the special times I've shared with the ladies whom I call my closest friends. These are the women I can count on to be here for me in good times and bad;
the ones I belly laugh with over silly stuff like pink lipstick at bedtime and "resoaring my stole"; the ones I cry with, and the women I share life's journeys
with. They are true gifts from God and I would do anything for them
as well. I hope they each know how very special they are to me.
I truly hope that you all have friendships to treasure, besties to laugh and cry with and to share your journeys with! There's nothing like "girl time" together!
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