Fun Monday - What about your friends

Willowtree is hosting this week's Fun Monday. The challenge this week?


"Tell us about your best friend. Particularly things like: where you first met, how long you've been friends and why you think you are best friends".


The alternative directive, for those of us with no friends (I kid, I kid) is as follows:


"Who is the TV character that most makes you want to put your foot through the screen (it must be a character, not a person in reality TV). And why."


Well, if you know me, you now I'm all about my friends, and in fact, I had recently been thinking about introducing you all to my friends via a blog post or two...so I was ultra excited to get started on this particular Fun Monday challenge. BUT, if you know me, you also know that there is no way I was going to follow "the rules" and limit myself to just one friend! Since most of my friends don't read my blog (not because I haven't asked them to, but for whatever their lame reasons are), I don't really have to worry about offending anyone in particular by not picking them as my "best friend".


However, it's been a long time since I've limited myself to the idea of having one friend that is the best, above all others. I have a wonderful collective of friends in my life, both close and long distance, and they are all in my life because they are the BEST of the BEST. Each fit one or more particular aspect of my personality, and I wouldn't imagine living without them in my life.


That said, I still had to narrow down the field some, or we could all grow old reading about my friends. So, I've decided to focus on the three friends I spend the most time with currently. I have some other wonderful friends that whether due to location, or current life situation, I don't get to spend as much time with right now, and maybe I'll tell you all about them in the future. For now, my three amigas:


Disclaimer: they're all going to kill me for the photos accompanying this post, but since they don't read my blog...tough on them! I've also decided to protect the guilty, and am giving them all pseudonyms.

Meet "Double D" (she's so going to kill me). I met DD at work about 4 years ago. She started her new job exactly one week before I started mine. For the first year or so I worked "upstairs" and she worked "downstairs", so we would speak at lunch, and say our "good mornings" but we didn't really know each other all that well. Then the office began to have financial issues, and her department was downsized, and she was moved "upstairs" to share office space with me. Both of us will tell you that we were NOT thrilled about having to share an office. I had shared office space before, and was not happy about the fact that I was losing my large office, and having someone come in and cramp my style. And yet, sharing that office was probably the best thing that happened to the both of us. We quickly realized we were kindred spirits and became fast friends. DD is about 6 years younger than me, but has gone through enough in her life that she is "an old soul", something I've been called myself throughout my life. DD also has a wonderful relationship with her mother, as do I. DD and I learned we shared tastes in music, and could entertain ourselves with tales of our families, our relationships and our careers. And another thing DD and I share is our struggle with our ever present large "bosoms" if you will. At that time, we bonded over the constant ribbing we received from fellow co-workers about our breast size. I'll never forget the day DD had a bra delivered from Victoria's Secret to our office, and one of our co-workers put it on her head and said she could use it as a hat. Yep...we had a wild office at that time. Unfortunatelyl, the financial situation at work got progressively worse, and DD was laid off. Fortunately, our friendship survived that lay-off and we continued to hang out and build our friendship. She finally married her long time boyfriend last year, and I was honored to be one of her bridesmaids. We have been there for each other through some tough times, and we have had some great laughs. Not a day goes by that we don't speak via e-mail and telephone. I count DD as one of my closest and dearest friends, and know we have many more stories to tell and create in the future.

Next I'd like you to meet Shoppaholic. I met Shoppaholic through a mutual friend of ours, who at the time was one of my best friends. I seldom speak to this friend anymore, for a multitude of reasons we've just grown apart, but we had a great friendship for several years, and from that wonderful friendship I met Shoppaholic. My memory is somewhat hazy as to how exactly the two of us began hanging out more independently of the rest of the group...but if I had to guess, I'd say it had something to do with shopping. There were some issues with the circle of friends at that time, and without going into the gory details, both Shoppaholic and I took a step back from the group and the drama, and I think that is what solidified our friendship. Then I bought my condo and she was one of the few who actually showed an interest in both seeing it, and spending time with me there. I was proud of my new home and wanted to share it with my friends, so those who couldn't be bothered to even come see it, were slowly weeded out. The group dynamic changed as well, due to the fact that some of us were beginning to feel older and less inclined to hit the club and party scene, while others were still living it up. I had a mortgage now, and needed to focus my finances a bit more. Through whatever series of events led to it, Shoppaholic and I became great friends, and learned of each other's shopping addictions. Then there was the summer she had pre-teen nieces staying with her, and I with my "little sister", we spend quite a bit of time together with "the kids" doing "kid" things. All I can tell you is thank God for our friendship, because there is nobody else in this world that can shop like we do, and we'd be very lost indeed without the other. She actually moved away for a few months, and I'm so glad she decided to move back. I mean, who do you know that can go shopping at 10AM and not come home until 10PM, and not buy anything in particular, but just enjoy prowling the shops and searching for bargains? We make shopping a sport, and consider the day after Thanksgiving the Olympics. This is what we do...we shop. But don't be misled, our friendship is not based on shopping alone. We have a strong bond, and deep discussions about life and love and all the things in between. We have both been there for each other through tough times, and have grand plans of growing old together, hopefully both getting married one day, and having kids around the same age, so we can have playdates. Shoppaholic is without doubt one of the best of the best, and I treasure her frienship dearly.

And finally, my greatest friend of all. She does get top billing, above all others, because she is the friend I have had the longest. In fact, I've known her my whole life, from the day I was born, and even through some growing pains, we've always been great friends. I am of course, speaking of my mother. Mom (she gets no pseudonym, because she does not need one, she is mom) is just about the greatest person I know, and I am so blessed that she is mine.

As far back as I can remember, I've considered mom to be a friend. We had our issues when I was a teenager, but then who doesn't at that time in their life? But we've always had a good relationship, and a great ability to talk about almost everything. More than once in my life I have found myself disappointed by friends turning out to be less than...less than compassionate, less than caring, less than honest...less than. But during those times, I always had Mom. Mom would go out to eat with me, to the movies, shopping, we'd spend hours talking about nothing, and she'd always hear me out when I needed a listening ear. Mom and I can laugh ourselves into hysterics for no particular reason, and we can allow each other to cry when the need arises. My house was always the one my friends wanted to be at, because mom was just so cool. In highschool all of my friends called my mother "mom", and one of my friends even ran away to come live with us. (Mom promptly called her parents and told them she was staying with us that night, and then she'd bring her straight home the next day). There is just something about my mother that attracts people of all ages. Even now, mom works with a few girls in their 20's and they just LOVE to hang out with mom. And now, as an adult, I've reached a new level in my friendship with my mom. I'm no longer her "little girl", I'm more her confidant, her buddy, her friend. Just recently we had a hilarious conversation which was our first venturing into the area of my sexual history. Mom was under the impression that my "first" had been someone she hated, and was elated to hear that was not the case. I love where we are in our relationship today, and can only see our friendship get stronger and more mature as time goes on. A greater friend cannot exist.

So, there you have it, a little diddy about my friends. I can't wait to go read about yours.

Don't forget to go visit Willowtree to find other Fun Monday participants!