Created: 05/19/2009 10:05 AM KSTP.com | Print Story

May 19, 2009 : The Importance Of Girlfriends!

I just recently had a girls’ weekend with two of my best friends and had an absolute blast.  That’s probably not surprising, but when I tell you that two days after I returned my mother told me that I sounded like a new person, that may at least make you raise an eyebrow.  My favorite job in the entire world is being a mom, hands down!  I love the cuddles, the craziness and the chaos that comes with raising two girls just 15 months apart in age.  In fact, when you go day to day, working full time and trying to be a hands on mom with the time you have at home, you forget that you might be neglecting yourself a bit.  So every once in a while I get a little stressed and probably sound tired to those around me, even though I don’t notice a difference, until I get a little time to rejuvenate and that came with a girls’ weekend.  My two best friends and I live very far from one another.  There’s Yami, who lives in San Antonio and Erin, who lives in Chicago and myself, here in the great state of Minnesota.  We met when we were all working as reporters in Milwaukee.  We were instant friends, but our bond was strengthened when we all became pregnant around the same time.  Going through new motherhood solidified us as “best friends”.  When Yami moved to San Antonio and Erin to Chicago and then finally me to Minnesota we promised that we would see each other at least once a year.  This is year two of that pact and we’re still holding our word.  Every time we get those two days together we are total girls, giggling, shopping and eating.  My favorite moment of our last trip was the two hours we spent in our pajamas, in the middle of the day, eating ice cream in bed and laughing about all the craziness that comes with being a wife and mother.  We chatted about things that just don’t come out in our day to day phone calls.  There’s no real turmoil going on in our lives right now but there are changes, lots of changes.  To be able to talk about those changes with the people you feel closest too and who just happen to be going through them as well can heal a tired soul and keep you going for another year.  I recently talked about the importance of girlfriends with three other women during one of our round tables on Twin Cities Live.  Jessica Miles from 5 Eyewitness news, Melissa Moore from Greg and Melissa on KS95 and Sheletta Brudidge from Channel 45’s Crossroads chatted with me about their friends and though we were all in different places in our lives we all agreed that one of the things that has helped us get through and enjoy life are our friends.  So here’s to all the girlfriends out there…go out and giggle a little.  It makes life even sweeter!