We met at 8am on a Saturday morning. It had taken months of planning. Months of “We should get together for breakfast sometime” Months of procrastination, mostly on my part.

And then it happened. Four friends who have known each other for 16 years came together. It was as though we were all young again sitting around Lisa’s pool, toddlers at our feet and school-age children splashing in cool blue water on hot summer days; the days of waffles for Sunday dinner and small problems.

The babies and preschoolers are now in college and working adults – they no longer splash in Lisa’s pool or have sleep-overs on long summer nights. And we? We are slightly grayer and now know what it is like to stay up all night praying for our kids. Despite this, we have those happy wrinkle lines around our eyes; the ones that show the world how much you laugh. At least I like to think so.

These are comfortable relationships; there is no one-upmanship, no envy, no sanctimonious “my kids are better than yours” – just laughter, verbalized frustration with some of our situations, and sharing of life’s journey.

Over Sugar Magnolia’s famous blueberry pancakes, omelets and Crazy Monkey French Toast we picked up where we had left off so many years ago. While we have seen each other in passing during the last 16 years, we haven’t really shared life.

In our world of broken relationships and me-centered living, making time for female friendships is important but always seems to get pushed to the side. The “I’ll call you!” or “Let’s get together” hangs on our lips but too often doesn’t move into action.

We want to change that. We want this to be a monthly event. It’s a time in life where we need our friends; where it’s easy to feel irrelevant in our children’s lives and bored in our careers.

Friends remind us that we are more than our children and careers. Friends challenge us to keep our faith….and our sanity. Friends go out to breakfast (no matter how long it takes to plan) and keep the waitress running for coffee. Friends let us eat Crazy Monkey French Toast and remind us that God is Big, that he is present and that he has not forgotten us .

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