Day 6 of My Month of Gratitude

The next one is easy to guess… the last one was family, the next one is…

1. My Husband
2. My Children
3. My Step-Children
4. My Step-Grandchildren
5. My Family
6. My Friends

My friends….

I feel so lucky to have my friends. I have friends that I have been friends with since I was a young child, from Primary School (7yrs old) and one from before that even, and from Secondary School and College.

I seem to have been able to keep my friendships going over the years even though friendship groups have changed and moved on, I stayed friends with one from each group really. My friends are very close to me, even if I don’t see them very often, I still love them dearly.

A few years ago I was going through a bad patch after having my second child, and none of my local friends had children yet. At that stage I realised that I hadn’t made any new friends since college, I had gained two good friends in college but all the rest of my friends I had known since before I was in my teens. I hadn’t made any friends in any job I had worked in, and I had made no mummy friends. I decided when my eldest daughter started school that I needed to find some mummy friends, and I actively tried to talk to mums at the school and made a big effort. One of the mums with a son the same age as mine told me about the local mum and baby playgroup that she went to, and said she’d meet me there if I wanted to go. I was petrified but I sucked it up and I went. And I was so happy I did. It was a lifesaver. It was a life-changer to be honest. I met loads of new mums, and after a while I made friends with some of the mums and progressed to playdates etc. I still am so thankful to that lovely mum. Since my son started school I have made another little group of mum friends which is great too. But my core friends are there still, and pressure free.

For me, my friendships are so important. My friends growing up were very important, I stayed in their houses a lot and know all their families very well. I was very lucky to have those friends when I needed them as a child, and even more lucky to still have them. That saying that “friends are the family you choose for yourself” feels very true for me as I love my close friends like they are family. I always come away from a catch up with a friend feeling good about myself and grateful for having my friends. It is really an area of my life that I am extremely thankful for.