Why women need girlfriends

We are all in forties. When we meet, there are cocktails and coolers, food and lunches, diamonds and bags but most telling is our laughter. Lots and lots of laughter, the kind that draws attention and curiosity from anyone in earshot. We enjoy each other's company and make each other feel young. Never loose touch with your girlfriends. The older you get, the more you need them. Girlfriends help us sail through happy times and even the sad times.

They can read our mind and our emotions, intuitively recognize what needs to be done -- then do it. They can listen, empathize and show compassion. They can be used by God to comfort us and provide a timely shoulder to cry on. While faith keeps you standing, friends and family hold your hand as you move forward. While we certainly need the wonderful men in our lives, for they play a crucial role, too, men simply aren't designed to understand us like one of our own. Sometimes it takes another woman to intuitively recognize what needs to be done -- then do it. Or to sense what needs to be said -- then say it. Or to take the thoughts and emotions we don't voice -- and know what to make of them. Having great friends is largely a matter of being a great friend. Invest in people. Girlfriends matter in good times and bad, laughter and tears, and through the highs and lows that reveal who's with us for the long haul, and who's willing to share in our suffering so that one day, when we're laughing again on the beach, there will be a history that makes the laughter sound richer and stirs the curiosity of anyone in earshot.