Comments on: Girlfriends

By: Tonya

Tonya — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:47:31 +0000

I am 41 and have been a stay at home mom / housewife for 15 years now. My world was my family. I had no friends. At all! I became so depressed & miserable, hating it (but not willing to give it up), just knowing there was MORE! We moved and our new next door neighbor introduced herself & fortunately, she’s miss socialite. After getting over my insecurities about how pretty & thin she was (ha ha), she has truly been my saving grace. Thanks to HER, I’ve met so many new friends & we have a monthly get together! I also became a member of our PTO & THAT was the best thing I could have done!!! Meeting so many people & feeling needed & appreciated somewhere other than home….well….it really changed my life!! I think what you said above “If you make a choice to stay away from negative women, and you refuse to get in the dirt with them, you will stay above the drama” I’m going to have to share with my daughters. It’s very good advice. Thank you for your book (I have read it several times, it’s highlighted, it’s underlined, it’s dogeared, my husband, my friends AND my therapist knows about it! LOL It’s just what I need to snap me out of a funk when I get there! My ‘dream’ is to write books for women too—has been for 15 years since I got out of an abusive marriage—and reading your book always motivates me to get that started too!! Maybe this time I will!! Thank you Darla!!

By: Darla Shine

Darla Shine — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 20:00:36 +0000

I was really sickened last week watching Jill on the NYC housewives treat Bethany the way she did. Putting her on speaker phone was so childish. And knowing the girl is pregnant you would think she would cut her some slack.

If you can find a few nice girls to push the stroller with, have a few laughs with, and spend some time with, it’s a great thing.

By: TrishHas3Girls

TrishHas3Girls — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 03:58:10 +0000

I am 41 years old and have been a housewife for almost 7 years. I do not know how I would have gotten through these years of being home with my children if it weren’t for my girlfriends. I married my best friend, but he can’t truly understand what life is like for me the way my fellow housewife/mom friends can. I’m happy to say I know that each one of them have my back and wouldn’t hesitate to take my call at 3am. I hope they know I would do the same. We’re lucky to have each other and we need to be all be kinder to each other. I really hope the Bravo shows are mostly scripted. Those women, no matter how entertaining they are, make us all look bad.

By: Holly

Holly — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:24:18 +0000

Fantastic post and so very true! I have heard of the book, Tripping the Prom Queen and I do think it would be an interesting read. It is hard to make friends, real friends. In know alot of people but could I call them at 3am? You make an excellent point.

P.S. I haven’t been on this site in a long time but something made me think of it today and I’m remembering what I liked so much about it before.

By: Patti Romano

Patti Romano — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:41:14 +0000

Yes Darla! I do think that women can be friends! No one understands a woman better than another woman. And great girlfriends will become lifetime girlfriends even when distance separates them.

When I moved to South Carolina 5 years ago, one of my greatest sorrows was losing the girlfriends who I had connected with even before I had my two boys. These were young ladies I had worked with, gone out to dinner with, taken decorative painting and stenciling classes with, exercised with, shared good books and movies with, swapped recipes and health tips with, worked with, and ultimately celebrated the birth of children with. How could I ever replace those special ladies?

Well, I didn’t have to: those same ladies are my best friends to this day — and even though we don’t see each other quite so often, they’re only a phone call or an email away. And yes, we still share our trials and tribulations, our joy and our sorrows — maybe not as regularly, but certainly as deeply. I never would have been able to make this geographic move without the constant communication and love from my girlfriends. And now, as one of my best friends is moving to California, I can say from my heart, “Roseann, I’ll be there for you — just pick up the phone. You guys helped me through a huge change in my life–you gave me the courage to resettle — I’ll be glad to share my insight and lessons learned.” I’ll be happy to tell her, “You don’t need to try and fit in — just reach out a little and in places that interest you and more good friends will be attracted to you once again.”

When my husband was ill this past year, my girlfriends were in constant contact offering prayers and encouragement. I actually sent a chain email to all my friends asking for a prayer chain to be started. When one of my girlfriend’s husbands closed his business due to the economy, and she was down and out, I supported her with emails, cards, and phone calls, and yes…prayers. And last week we celebrated long-distance her husband’s new job.

Oh, I could go on and on and talk about children, pre-teens, teenagers, aging parents, going back to work–and every little hurdle and joy in between. Yes, Darla,
women can be friends! The very best of friends!

Patti Romano