Friendship

BY KATHY BLANTER

These women and I have forged a friendship over 20 years of parenting. We met through various stages of our intercountry adoption journey. We thought the pre-parenting, adoption process days were super tough and emotionally exhausting but, like John Snow, we knew NOTHING back then.

Now all our children are teens or young adults and we have been through the fun days of playgroup at each other’s homes, watching our toddlers play over endless cups of tea and cakes; through day care, primary school and high school woes.

There have been parenting challenges of every variety. There have been relationship highs and deep, deep lows. But our friendship, our support of each other, our love and respect for each other is deep and all encompassing.

There is very little, if anything, we don’t know about each other. Over many regular dinners, girl’s weekends and drop in cups of tea at each other’s kitchen benches we have shared every crevice of our selves. We have talked and talked, shopped, cleaned, cried and laughed, how we’ve laughed, together.

I don’t really think any of us had an inkling that 20 years ago we would not only still rely on each other for parenting support but truly, madly, deeply love and respect each other for the strong, smart, no bullshit women that we each are.

Romantic love is the stuff of books and movies but female friendship is the bedrock of society as far as I am concerned. If you’re lucky enough to have a tribe of kick ass women, strong, resilient, kind and big hearted, you have everything.

Image: Kathy Blanter, Claire Gingell, Therese Goshorn, Melani Kypri