I Believe in the true meaning of friendship

Being new to State College was a little unsettling for me. After living for 29 years in the same town, the thought of moving to a new home made me uneasy. Will I fit in there? Will I make new friends to share good times with, and will my little girl find some playmates and adapt well to her new home? Will my husband be happy in his new job and his new career?

Preschool started for my daughter when she was three years old. It provided a place for her to interact with other kids her age and have fun playing games and learning new things. It was a time for me to run errands, clean the house and cram as much as I could into those few hours of my very own.

Little did I know that as a result of those preschool days waiting out on the stoop of the church until our children’s morning without mom would end, I would meet a special group of women that have remained close to my heart for 18 years. As we got to know one another through idle chitchat, we decided to start going out for coffee to a local café. As we got to know each other a little more, we began meeting for breakfast at each other’s homes. Several years down the road, as our children entered elementary school, breakfasts turned into lunch, as the deeper friendship among us took hold and wouldn’t let go. We laughed, we cried and we vented, sharing all those wonderful memories of a young mother.

We laughed during the good times, cried during the not so good times, comforted the hurts, listened when advice was not the solution, and prayed together with arms intertwined, when our children were about to enter college as young adults. Some of those kids are only five minutes away, some hours away, some in different countries, but we continue to laugh, cry, comfort and pray. Our bodies are telling us we are not as young as we used to be. Each of our lives have changed in so many ways over the years, but the love we have for each other continues to grow. I know if and when I need a friend, I’ve got my “coffee group” to comfort me and this “I believe” is the true meaning of friendship.