This week saw yet another birthday come and go; in fact two birthdays.
The events warranted a girls’ night out of course. It’s become something of a tradition over the years. When one of us has a birthday, the birthday girl gets to choose the activity or restaurant for the evening, and everyone else pays for the treat. So on Wednesday evening seven of us gathered at our local Prezzo restaurant for a few hours of silliness and stuffing our faces.
The age of these lovely midlife women ranges from 46 to 57, and we’ve known one another for more than 20 years. Initially the link between us was our children; they all went to the same kindergarten and small village primary school. Over the years, we’ve become firm friends, and spent time together doing some amazing things. Not too many years ago our entire families used to get together for parties at Christmas and New Year; we’d have barbecues and day trips in the summer.
Most of us have grown up children now, and jobs and businesses to attend to. Some of us have grandchildren. There are a couple of friends who no longer join us, and there’s a couple we’ve gathered along the way. Our lives have changed in ways that none of us could have foreseen 20 years ago; we’re also a diverse group of characters, but come what may, the bond between us has grown stronger and stronger. These wonderful ladies are quite simply “family” to me.
The thing that prompts me to write this post is the photograph that was taken this week. It occurred to me that there has never been a time when we’ve managed to capture on camera the entire group of us. Either someone can’t make it to a get together or one of us is actually steering the camera. This time we grabbed a passing waitress and asked her to take the shot. It’s not a particularly good quality image, but we are all on there.
So thank you to my wonderful midlife friends for a lovely evening on Wednesday; thank you for the flowers and gifts. And paying for me to stuff my face. Go grab a glass of something, and join me in making a toast – to friendship. And long may we all be happy, healthy and here to celebrate many more birthdays.
Suzy Barker 
I envy the bond that you all share. My best friends and I are separated geographically now and I miss her. It is so rare that friendship bonds come as strong as the one you and your friends seem to have. I hope you realize how blessed you really are to have one of the most coveted connections available, friendship.
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Hey there, Mama Oso,
I truly appreciate your comments relating to friendship; I can imagine that it must be the toughest thing to be separated from best friends by distance. I have to say that the bonds I have with my girl friends ranks right at the top of my priority list in life, and we all strive to maintain the bonds we’ve established over the years. I do consider myself to be very fortunate, and if there was ever any risk of me taking it for granted, you just reminded me that I am, indeed, truly blessed. Thank you, Best regards, SuzyB
P.S. Just called over to see you on – She’s Spoken – Advice, opinions, and critical thinking all in one place! Love it.
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