Girlfriends are more than a girl's best friend

I consider myself extremely lucky to be surrounded by a great group of girlfriends. When I say surrounded, I am speaking figuratively, since many of my girls live much further than a hop, skip, and a jump away. I’ve known some for a few years, and others long enough to harbor blackmail-worthy stories. But they're all mine, and I love them.

Yahoo posted an article from the editors of Prevention magazine about the mental well-being of married adults (as opposed to married children). It stated that according to a study those that had at least two best friends were happier than those will just one buddy. I found this a bit humorous at first because it literally says, "a study." I don't know who conducted the study (marriage counselors? divorce lawyers?) or who they studied (newlyweds?), but one of the other points of the article was that those that smiled in their college yearbook photo were more likely to stay married. Maybe I was drinking a Jack and Coke at La Salle's when yearbook photos were taken, or I overslept through the photoshoot (and my first class), but I don't think college yearbook photos have been taken since the 80's. I digress...

So this got me thinking about all of our smiley girlfriendy faces. My college friends—the Chico girls—are near and dear to my heart. We took that journey together: from annoying teenagers, to one solid think-tank (all dressed in flannels and Birkenstocks. It was 1994. Don’t judge!), and then we slowly grew into the individuals we are today.

One of our yearly Chico girls weekends

Sarah and Elyce are my sisters from another mother. They are actually sisters, which has come with its own set of challenges when they don’t get along. But with Sarah, I have a partner-in-crime for life, and with Elyce, my travel date, all I can say is Como Dice? Early next year we can ALL finally call ourselves a mother, and we will find even more reasons to laugh together.

A Vegas excursion, before babies.

There are still other women that I hold close to my heart. Some I have played soccer with, or helped decorate a bathroom in fake blood for Halloween, or beat in a yearly Oscar pool (again!), or I turned to for advice about work, or I drink wine with every year at Christmas.

Yes, I am happy.

And if I don’t have any of my girls, I can still find a way to dance to my own beat.