I love my position

I have a group of girlfriends whome I’ve known since middle school. There are 4 of us and one of them I’ve known since kindergarten. We all went to high school together. We all went to college together. We all got married within a year of each other (3 of us within months of each other). I was the first of the group to get married and also to have kids. One doesn’t currently have any kids, one has a beautiful baby girl who’s roughly 6 months old and the other has a 15 month old and a 3 year old. Though we’ve kept in touch sparingly via e-mail since college, we’ve recently connected on Facebook. It has been such a blast “seeing” them again! I haven’t seen most of them since the last wedding, nearly 4 1/2 years ago. And I’m so glad I didn’t have to wait until our 10 year reunion this summer (God willing) to “see” them again. They haven’t changed, of course. They never did.

But what I love is that they are asking me for advice. I’ve never been the “seasoned pro” at anything! I’m typically the youngest in the parenting groups that I have been involved with (locally, anyway), even though we all have kids the same age. That’s how it was in our old church, too. I was by far the youngest mother with kids these ages (5 and nearly 7). I’ve always looked to others for the advice that I’m now able to pass along to my friends. I must say, there’s something completely satisfying in being able to pass along tips and tricks to other moms, but especially my friends. And I don’t mean satisfying in a bloated, egotistical kind of way. I mean complete satisfaction that my years (even if only 7) of laboring through trials and tears and hair-pulling-out can help one of my friends get through it a little easier, the same way it worked from those whom I sought advice from.

I can honestly say that I am looking forward to sharing parenting war stories with them when we meet this summer. And, maybe passing on some more wisdom, lol. Yeah, right. Wisdom. Well, tips and tricks, anyway. It’s kind of fun to be the giver rather than the receiver, of advice

Tags: advice, Friends, kids, motherhood, parenting