Friendship

One of my favorite songs  in the entire world is Sunrays And Saturdays by Vertical Horizon. It is about a couple breaking up and wishing the best of life for each other.

I wish you…

Sunrays and Saturdays
Perfect starry nights
Sweet dreams and moonbeams
And a love that’s warm and bright
Sunrays and Saturdays
Friendship strong and true
Oceans of blue and a room with a view
To live the life you choose 

For years I’ve struggled with friendship with other women and wished for friendships strong and true. By nature we’re too catty, love to nice on the surface and mean around the corner.  I have “broken up” with not one but TWO toxic friends. I have been on the outside, looking in since middle school. I was a victim of bullying by a tribe of mean girls, back then it was just called “girls being girls.” I’ve been excluded, on purpose by friends getting together for girls night out.

I remember exactly how our friendship started. Her daughter was struggling and she asked for some advice on her blog. And instead of giving advice, I poured a encouragement in her comments.

From there, we became Facebook friends and eventually decided to get brave and exchange phone numbers.

One of my closest friends is someone I have never met face to face. My blogging journey has come full circle and God has been in every detail of it.

We talk several times a day, via text and Voxer (more on that next week). We share the same struggles and are in the same season of motherhood.

[Tweet “We know each other’s ugly messy unfine life. We are a friendship match that was made in heaven.”]

Our friendship is so strong that my husband even mentioned it in a job interview.

Those hurts ran deep but they have been healed.

I found friendship in the spouses of my husband’s college friends.

I found friendship in the mothers of the babies born the same summer of Malone.

I found my blogging  tribe and online writing community.

I’m headed to three blogging conferences this year, a mini conference with the SITS girls in Boston, Blog U, and Allume.  And I cannot wait to take those friendships offline and into real life.

Friendships strong and true.

Speaking of which, there is a really great online conference starting tonight called (in)RL (in real life). It was started for women like you and me- the seekers, the hurt, the hopers, the dreamers. For those of us who have been on the outside looking in, who want a seat on the friendship bench. You can go here to get more details. 

I’m linking up today with Lisa Jo Baker’s Five Minute Friday.