There’s a bond between women, no matter what age they are that cannot be explained. It just is.

I remember when I was in Kindergarten and came home on the first day. My mom asked how my day was and I exclaimed, “I have a new friend; her name is Donna and she has blond hair!” I seriously didn’t know anything else about her. But she was my friend.

We lost touch as we both moved around and grew up, but I still remember that exhilarating feeling of connecting to another female and being “friends.”
There’s a sisterhood between women friend groups; a connectedness that fills a place in a women’s heart that nothing else will. I look at my college-age daughters who have formed those bonds with new friends they never knew before they went off to school. They become part of the family: visiting, texting, dreaming with each other. They have become sisters. (My daughter, Rachel, is pictured above with her roommate, Kylie, who traveled to Nice with us this summer.)

I have a group of women friends, the sisters of my heart, in Raleigh who have loved me, celebrated my victories, traveled to Mexico to build houses with me, comforted me, laughed with me and wiped my tears as they cried with me. One of the hardest decisions of moving was to deliberately choose to move away from these wonderful women. Oh, I know I can count on staying connected with Skype, Facebook, unlimited long distant calls and texts and visits along the way. But it simply is not the same as living in the same town and neighborhood.

Relocating has had its ups and downs, but the most difficult thing is not having any female friends here. Working by myself doesn’t help. And not having kids at home to ease the introduction process through school and their friends has only complicated things. Two of my oldest and dearest friends, Myra and Pauline, I met that very way - at preschool and Kindergarten when our daughters became friends. We still get together and it always feels like we've spoken only hours before. They know my heart and I know theirs. It’s that kind of connection I miss and I yearn for in my new hometown.

Then last week, I met a new friend. Her name is Brittany and she has blond hair!

I felt like I was five. I smiled a crazy, silly smile all day long. That night I told my daughters about her like I was again that 5-year-old bubbling with enthusiasm. Who knows if we will stay connected through the years or if our paths have only crossed for this season? But it feels wonderful to have a local girlfriend to call at the last minute and grab dinner.

And it makes me miss my “girls” in Raleigh even more. But I’m starting to plan weekend getaways for them to come visit. Besides, I live at the beach and who doesn’t want to come hang out at the coast for a day or two?

If you know what I’m talking about with the connectedness with girlfriends, let them know you’re thinking of her today. Send her the link to this story and write her name and the color of her hair in the comments section below.