A lovely afternoon with the
gals... but it hasn’t always been this relaxed!
Anyone lucky enough to have a
good bunch of friends knows what an essential part they play in our lives. We may not see them every day, every week or
even every month, but that doesn’t matter – when good mates get together, they
pick up right where they left off, no matter how long ago that may have been.
Well, I consider myself as one of
those lucky people, and I met up with my particularly lovely pals the other
weekend for a spot of afternoon tea and a good old gossip. Don’t know about them, but these days, I like
to think of our group as Leeds’ very own version of the Sex and the City girls... except without the Manolos and Louboutins.
Although actually one of us did bag a pair of Jimmy Choo boots in the Harvey
Nics sale once – not me L
Anyhow, we get together every few
months or so, usually for a nice meal, a few drinks and to share with one
another what we’ve been up to since last time we met. It’s always pretty chilled
and civilised, although I have to admit sometimes even a little risqué! Forty plus we may all be (one or two of us
fifty plus actually), but we can still engage in conversation that would bring
a blush to the faces of Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and probably even Samantha!
However, I think it’s fair to say
the nature of our get-togethers has changed somewhat over the years. In fact, in
the early days of our friendship, uninterrupted afternoon tea and cocktails
would have been the stuff our dreams were made of. You see we all met for the first time a very
long time ago now (with our tiny little babies), at a local first-time mums’
support group. Well, our ‘tiny little babies’ all turn twenty-two this year, and we’ve been meeting up
regularly ever since.
Back then, we used to meet at one
another’s house each Friday (even now we refer to our group as the ‘Friday
Friends’), taking it in turns to provide a venue, a cuppa (or two) and a
selection of cream cakes, bringing each week to a much needed, kind of grown-up
end (actually, sounds like we’ve always
done afternoon tea doesn’t it?!).
Generally speaking though, we spent our Friday afternoons trying
desperately to engage in something that felt at least a little bit like adult
conversation, whilst juggling nappy changing, breast feeding and pelvic floor exercises - happy days!
Over the past twenty plus years,
our friendship has created some unforgettable memories, you lovely ladies know
exactly what I mean. We’ve seen
one-another through our second (one of us even third) pregnancies, and
supported each other through the ups and downs of motherhood, the highs and
lows of relationships, bereavement, illness, separation, divorce, celebrations
in their many forms, and probably everything else you could possibly think of
in between (navel piercing and tattoos included) and
all without a crossed-word between us, seriously!
The fifth member of our original
Friday Friends group is, unfortunately, unable to join us on most occasions
these days as she no longer lives locally.
However, there isn’t a single get-together that we don’t think about her
and wish she could be with us. For now, we'll look forward to when all five of us are, once again together, drinking tea and cocktails, eating cake, and celebrating our wonderful friendship.
Special people,
special times!
As the Sex and the City girls
toasted, at the end of their first movie, (raising their Marguerita glasses with
a twinkle in their eyes and a knowing smile on their lips)... here’s to the next
50 years!
Thanks for reading,
hope you’ve enjoyed the post.
