Girls

I've just had a fabulous weekend in Sydney with seven girlfriends from around the globe. Our connection - school, university, parties, boyfriends, Facebook amongst many other things. Somehow, we've managed to sort of stay in touch with each others lives and 12 months after an idea was planted, we actually succeeded in getting together.

For me, it was embarrassingly easy - pack a bag and hop on a ferry. But for everyone else there was significant effort and cost. Eight girls with their own lives and their own routines, foibles and goals together in a small house could be a recipe for disaster, or at least niggles. But no, this weekend was an exercise in compromise, understanding and working together to .....well, make it work. And we did.

And as one of the girls summed up perfectly in an e-mail to us, "...was great for the soul, and my cheeks still hurt from all the laughing...". And she's right. It was great for the soul. To be 40 something and still hang out happily with girls we've known well and not-so-well for over 20 years, and who we haven't seen for ages is a reassuring and loving thing.

I've always known there are some friends who I will care for until I die.

This weekend just showed me that circle has got a little wider.

Note to self: Walking under waterfalls during the storm of the year with a brolly given away in a magazine, and two of you under that brolly, is never going to end well. Sorry about the soggy passport Sheree!