Of girlfriends and lemons…

Life’s been throwing quite a few lemons at me lately…..so what do I do about it? Initially I would cry, sulk, get depressed, get suicidal even….but that was a big trap. It’s like an unending ebb of “why me”, “what did I do”, “I do not deserve this” and the like. Something’s gotta give, I thought to myself.  What do I do with so many lemons? Well, what about making a fine lemonade (sometimes spiking it too) and raising a toast with my girlfriends!!

My girlfriends are my sounding boards, my counselors, my partners in crime, my gluttony as well as diet mates, the shoulders when I need to cry, the wings when I need to fly. They don’t judge me for my appearance, or reprimand me for my laziness. They indeed perk me up more than the strongest cup of coffee.

And it is no joke that this morning itself I read about the health benefits of having great girlfriends (for us women, you silly blokes)! It said women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences.

Physically this quality “girlfriend time” helps us to create more serotonin – a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being.

Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. Women share from the soul with sisters/mothers, and evidentially that is very GOOD for health !!

Ha! Another reason to raise the bubbly sweeties!!  Spending quality time with your girlfriends is as beneficial as jogging  or going for a sweat-inducing cardio session. And not maintaining quality relations with other individuals can be seriously damaging to the human body.

There is this inherent need in us women to not keep secrets! We need to spill out anything even remotely close to a secret. And who better than our girlfriends, our besties, our 4 am madcap friends! We can talk about anything from our errant children to our useless husbands to our bloodsucking maids to our unsatisfying jobs to that life-threatening zit, to the stubborn as a rock belly bulge to PMS to fashion to the latest hottie in the neighbourhood to the latest eatery that we have to try! You name it and yup that’s been discussed by us!

My chosen few girlfriends have uplifted me when I have had no reason to get up. They have stood by me when everybody else walked away. I have to speak to my bestie every day. It doesn’t matter how inane my day was or how insipid my activities. I have to share with her my most frivolous feelings just like I share my deepest angst with her. And somehow my friends have this magical airbrush that know a trick or two to make me feel all right.

With them it doesn’t matter whether you did something stupid or cracked some kind of mathematical code. They love you for who you are. They will never judge you or bitch about you. They will just “be there”.

So treasure you friends girls. Keep them, nurture them, value them…and never ever ignore them or sideline them for the man in your life. Oh that would be sacrilege!

By the way, talking about those lemons, nothing feels more intoxicating and liberating when you can gulp down life’s tequila with your girlfriends and suck those very same lemons with some of your emotional salt!!

Cheerios!