The One About the Friends

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Recently I realised that there is something I may be missing out on.
Something a lot of other women are up to, that I have only dabbled in.

And no, I'm not talking about anything battery operated.

I'm talking about female friendships.

Now before you all start thinking I'm a bit wierd. I'm not. Much. 
I do have female friends. But I don't see them very often. When I do see them, its great, and it's like we've never been apart. The sands of time drift away, and its like the months (or in some cases years), since I last saw my friend never really happened. It's great. 
But the demands of modern life, geography, and in some cases motherhood, means that I just don't get together with my friends as often as films like Sex and The City would have you believe that we "should".

But does it matter? I see people around me at work who see their friends all the time, and have regular scheduled meet ups with their friends. They get upset with each other if something comes up and one of them is unable to make it. 

Thats something I find a bit difficult to relate to. I find it hard to find other women who "get" me. I shy away at any hint of bitchiness, so tend to steer clear of groups of women (I'm not saying groups of women are bitchy by the way... but it can happen!), and sometimes I have to admit, I find forming new friendships a strain - I value my "alone" time, and I resent having to justify it to other people who expect me to give it up for a girlie lunch.  And yes, I know, that makes me sound very strange. I'm OK with myself though.

And this brings me neatly to the subject of my sister - she has always had a wide circle of friends. She sees them regularly, she goes out regularly with them. Her boyfriend had to fight for the right to be accepted by her group of friends (many other less strong men faced the group and failed to make the cut). My sister and her friends all grew up together - they went to the same school and in some cases even the same university. Some have moved away for jobs, but they still have regular get togethers. 

Until recently I had a feeling that I'd find this a bit claustrophobic if I was in my sister's position. But then my sister recently organised a charity event on behalf of a female cancer charity. She arranged champagne and canapes plus a private screening of SATC2 with a prize raffle for over 200 ladies. Her friends turned out en masse to support her. And I never realised how great that could be until I saw it. She felt great as a result of being there, and it was clear that her friends (as well as her family and her partner) felt extremely proud of her. 

It takes someone special to inspire that in people - and it made me think about whether I'd been missing out on all that female solidarity. While I'll never be as sociable as my sister, and I'll always value my own time, I've also realised that maybe being more open to the possibility of friendship is no bad thing. 

So, to my sister, in my opinion...

 How about you... do you revel in your female friendships, or are you more of a loner?