Three Peas in a Pod

I had breakfast with the girls the other day. Getting together with them is always such a rejuvenating experience! Gee, a decade ago we'd get together for margaritas, not coffee and eggs. Even then, though, the important element was not the food, beverage, location, or time of day; it was, and always will be, the company we keep.

Now, I realize I've already written about these amazing women several times recently (see "Staunch Women" and "Rescue Me"). But the power of feminine relationships is worthy of frequent discussion. 

I've gotten to thinking about how well we complement each other. I envision some sort of girlfriend Venn diagram when I consider what we have in common and how our lives differ. As I look closer, I'm also reminded of the type of logic puzzle where you're sometimes provided with a chart to solve something like which brother lives in which color house, works at what trade, is married to which woman, and the age of each.

When it comes to the three of us...
Two have two children each; one has an only child.
We all got married in the same year.
Two families had children in public schools; the other family's children started in private school.
We've each lost one parent; different times, different circumstances, but the same type of pain.
Two have primarily blue-collar spouses; one has a husband that's considered white-collar.
When the three of us came together, two were employed outside the home; one worked primarily from a home office.
We weren't born in the same calendar year but within the same 12-month period.
Two met in college; these two met the third by working with her husband.
The one with the oldest child is the youngest of the three; she also has the youngest child (and the only daughter).
We disagree on some usage guidelines, but we all appreciate the importance of spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
We've each had our share of significant events in our lives.
Two live within just a few miles of each other; the third lives "all the way" across the river on the other side of town.
We each have a terribly dry sense of humor.
One is an oenophile; the other two are happy to drink whichever wine she offers.
Each of us has good ideas; those ideas are greatly improved with input from the others.
We freely offer compliments and reassurance to each other; we also freely offer honest opinions even if it's not want we want to hear. 
None of us are originally from Green Bay. How blessed we are, though, to have met each other here!

I have gained an appreciation of the friendships my mom has enjoyed over the years. Now I understand why she'd "go for coffee" with the neighbor lady. It's difficult to describe how well we mesh, unless you are also fortunate enough to have this kind of relationship in your own life. We became friends in the usual random way. We are still friends because of and in spite of both what we have in common and how we're each unique individuals.

We're approaching 15 years of being "together." We must be doing something right, wouldn't you say?