Girlfriends.

Throughout life, girls need to have friends. Throughout life, the roles of friends change. I have decided there are several categories of friends. I am going to break them down.

This is for my pleasure and enjoyment. Here we go.

1. The Grow up with ya girlfriend. - This friend has known you since birth. You played fake cabbage patch babies together, she gave you your first bloody nose. As teens, you envision yourself as the two old ladies playing slots in Vegas wearing polyester pants and crazy flowered hats, packing large purses. But, somewhere along the way, something changed. Maybe a boyfriend. Maybe she had issues she couldn't let go of. Maybe she acted as though she was superior, but really felt inferior. This friendship hurts the worst when it ends. There is nothing left to say in end. And, when you run into her years later, there really is nothing left to say.

2. The High School girlfriend. - This is the girl you meet your first day of class your freshman year of high school. She stays with you thru your high school days of first loves, first responsibilities, first jobs, until you grow up (or, so you think) and your interests change. It is kinda painful when things dissolve, but you get over it. Years later, you figure out you didn't really know her at all. And you really weren't missing anything.

3. The Oh, I am ALMOST an adult girlfriend. - This is the girl you meet in college. She is more sophisticated/cooler/has better clothes. She is a fun party girl. She gets the cute boys. You shop together, have sleepovers, cry together when you lose boyfriends, throw up together. Then one day, one of you actually grows up more than the other. And someone ends up moving on. You never see her again. She probably ended up working a stripper pole in LA or Vegas. You always wonder what happened to her. And you realize that all the fun times were not so fun after all.

4. The I AM AN ADULT girlfriend. - This is the most important of all. You have kids. She has kids. You have a husband. She has a husband. EVEN if you didn't have kids the same age, she would still be your friend. You are adult enough not to revert back to being girlfriend #1, 2 or 3. If a week or two goes by, and you don't speak, the next time you talk you are able to pick up where you left off. When you are having a bad day, you can call her and cry. When she is stressed out, she sends you a text or email. And, you take the time to reply. It is important. No pettiness enters the relationship. These are few and far between.

5. The I am a petty female girlfriend. - These girlfriends don't even deserve to be capitalized. They look at what you drive, what brand of clothes your kids wear. What does your husband do. They are miserable in their marriages. They want you to be, too. If you gain weight, they are happy. If you lose weight, they are sad. Yet still, you associate with this type of female at playgroups, moms night out, and various clubs. They are not really girlfriends. They are venomous snakes. You know the ones. The obligatory - we have kids the same age - "friends".

I have been thru all of these. I have learned that girlfriends come and go. What are important are the ones that hang around to become #4. I have some of these. I love you all.