GIrlfriends

Today I called up a girlfriend while I was out running errands and ended up talking to her for over an hour while I bounced a baby on my hip and stood outside of my parked car in front of the public library. We talked about everything; all the things that consume our thoughts, time, and dreams. We spoke about relationships and motherhood, body image and fitness, dance, work, husbands, friendships, family members, desires, goals and inside jokes. We laughed and confided, recounted, and updated. We tried to wrap up the conversation unsuccessfully multiple times. There was simply too much to share.

It wasn't the phone call in and of itself that brightened my day. No. It was the friend on the other line whom I admire and adore- a girl that I connect so deeply with that encouraged me and complimented me, listened to me, agreed with me, shared with me and understood me that left me feeling like ten times the woman I had thought I was just moments before that phone call. There is something magical about a conversation with a girlfriend. A good friend heals your searching soul.

I love you dear friend. (You know who you are.)

When I returned home (after I finally put down the cell phone and completed my errands) I sat Ellie on the counter and we shared a snack together- her: organic baby puffs and me: salted peanuts. For the first time as a mom I saw Ellie as something more than my little baby girl. She was my friend. I wonder how many snacks we'll share or how many times she'll sit on the counter and tell me about her day. I wonder when she'll confide in me about a crush she has, or a kiss she received. I hope she will turn to me and feel as comfortable with me as I feel with my mom. I hope she will not only call me her mother, but that I will be her friend. Because there is nothing quite like a true friend.