Friends, Wine and Brie

Last night I sat with some women. We drank wine and ate baked brie. We talked about hurt feelings, those on the mend and those already repaired. We laughed, cried, and solved the world’s problems all while watching episode after episode of Sex and the City.

I had been through some emotional turmoil, and was not sure if I even wanted to leave the house last night. For the last 3 days, I had talked and cried so much that I had to put ice packs on my eyes before I got ready to go out. I was so exhausted from all of the thinking and lack of sleep that I just wanted to put it all behind me. As much as I didn’t want to talk about it anymore, I knew that discussing my experience with my friends would bring more clarity to the situation and help me bring it to closure.

And it did. They empathized with me, but took it one step further by offering heartfelt suggestions. Once we covered the gambit of possible solutions and lots of hugs, the book was closed and laughter was abundant. And these are the people who I choose to be with. We don’t always agree with one another, but we always look for the one piece we can relate to.

That kind of respect comes from the love of a girl friend. When she doesn’t say, “you’re wrong”. When she values the fact that no one is the same, and, in fact, it is impossible not to be different. When she looks at you and sees all the goodness that you hold behind your exterior. When she understands that you deal with things differently than her, but that doesn’t make her right. When you can talk about how you really feel and know that it will stay in the room you said it in. When you can laugh your ass off about complete nonsense and all 4 of you get the joke.

And that’s what you see here; chemistry, comradery, the love of friends. So, get together with your girlfriends. All you need is a few cocktails, some good brie; everything else will fall in place.