My inspiration for this record of my days:

“The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less” -Anna Quindlen

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

BFFs

This is a picture of my cute mom with some of her BFFs.

Copy of kathywed 043

To me, these are my youth leaders and camp advisors from church. They have always been around. They are the ladies that throw the bridal showers and baby showers. They show up to help with wedding receptions every time. They are the flower arrangers, decorators, caterers and all-round right-hand ladies. And they always take my mom to lunch on her birthday.

My mom was never one who needed much “girl time.” I don’t remember her doing anything with friends… except birthday lunches. They were faithful about those. I remember thinking how sad it was that she didn’t ever hang out with her friends, as much as she seemed to love them.

Now I totally get it. I am in the phase of my life where my family requires 100 percent of my time and energy. Girl time is not high on my list of priorities, or even possibilities.

And yet, I feel like I have found my future BFFs. Once a month, after the kids are in bed, we meet for book club. We read all sorts of books; classics, self-helps, biographies, fun and frivolous. And every month we have a good, long, thought-provoking discussion about what we’ve read. At least the conversation begins with the book… and I end up staying out way too late for my own good.

I love to hear the insights and ideas of these women that I consider so wise and wonderful. No matter what book we read, I always come away from our discussions feeling enriched and uplifted.

I really hope that these will be the leaders and advisors for my children. I hope that these ladies will let me throw bridal showers for their daughters in a few years, and that they will need my help with wedding receptions. To me, I guess that is the sign of a long, established friendship.

In the meantime, I sure look forward to book club and birthday lunches!

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2 comments:

  1. Webb FamilyJanuary 17, 2010 at 2:08 PM

    It's great to have those best friends in your life even if it's rare to get to see them.
    Also, funny that I would know someone in the picture! Shari Brown, love that lady she is a sweetheart!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JeanJanuary 28, 2010 at 8:04 PM

    What a great story and I can relate. My mom didn't have friends as I was growing up and now as a mom, I completely understand why. What a great group of ladies too!

    ReplyDelete

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