GIRLFRIENDS GUIDE TO SURVIVING LIFE...

I truly believe that I would have not survived the turmoils of my life and its challenges without my girlfriends' support. Even though the general perception of women is that we are catty and mean to each other at times, especially in the work place where competition is fierce, our relationships are actually extremely important. Not only with our girlfriends but with our daughters, mothers, and grandmothers. Of course there is a difference in "confidante levels" when you talk to your best friend or to your own mother.

So, Gentlemen, if your ever felt your ears burning, if you ever wondered what we do to entertain ourselves on those girls' trips or dinners out, then you should be really scared. Besides having fun being away from all of our responsibilities, we talk about everything. Absolutely. Everything. Not just about our work issues, family problems and children, but YOU! Your fears are justified; we do not hold back. No topic is off limits. We discuss your incredibly annoying habits, including where you always leave your socks and underwear. Whether you act like you are 16 again and believe it is cool not to shower for two days. And no, it is not cute, we do not like when you guys stink. At all. Bedroom secrets...absolutely! As I said, no topic is off limit. We often plot to send all of you husbands off on a golf "dream vacation"...to far away Alaska. Give us a little cocktail and stories will emerge like you would not even believe. It only takes one of us brave girls to start and the rest will follow with juicy confessions. Don't you worry though, what happens on a girls' trip stays on the girls' trip. :)

Fun aside, we all have a few, especially close girlfriends, who we call our besties, who we can call anytime of the day or night, who we can cry to over the phone in despair. We can share our everyday frustrations about our kids (and husbands) not wanting to grow up, ever!!! Who we can be honest with about our insecurities, who we can get advice from but do not feel like we are being judged. If we run out of ideas for dinner, or we just need a good laugh on an extremely difficult day, no matter how far we are in physical distance, we will find the way to reach out to each other. I am extremely thankful to my BFs for their support and caring personalities and their love. You all know who you are. But I feel even luckier that my oldest daughter, my partner in crime of life&blogging, is also my best friend. We talk daily, several times. Sometimes just checking in via messages. I do not remember a day I have not talked to Diana. I know you might think you cannot possibly share everything with your daughter. Well, I have to agree, there are subjects that we both just lightly touch, leave it to the others' imagination instead of spelling it out completely. We are both very very imaginative and know each other well enough to be able to communicate with half sentences. But some topics are better left untouched between a mother-daughter. I remember moments when my own mom would jokingly say something to me about her intimate life with my dad, and I literally wanted to die. TMI!!! No need to have visuals of my parents in those situations, right? So, I try not to burden my girls with haunting images but good-hearted joking around is definitely allowed. And honest conversations are a must.

I am happy that my two girls will have each other not only as sisters but as "girlfriends" when they grow older. There must be something extra special about having sisters, a higher level of the girlfriend zone. I did not have a chance to experience this having only a brother, who of course I love dearly and have a great relationship with as well. But I feel it is just not the same. After all, you cannot share your makeup tips, bad hair problems, or wardrobe emergency issues with a bro. You cannot send him numerous pics of your outfits to help you choose the perfect one. You cannot raid their closet to find a strapless bra to wear with your outfit because you cannot find yours. Yes, they take your soap and shampoos out of your shower, and of course you only notice when you are already under the water. They take your face wash, makeup and everything that you own. Nothing is sacred in your house. But I would not have it any other way. Our bonds are extra special, something I will cherish forever. Here is to all our daughters, mothers, grandmothers and girlfriends! #mommydearest

The fabulous thing about having your mom as your best friend versus just a person that is non-related to you is that no matter how annoying you are, she still has to love you. My mom knows me better than anyone, so who better to send photos of all my potential outfits to then her? I know even if she thinks it's outrageous that I send her 50 photos, she will still respond to me and give me her very best advice on which one to wear. Another positive aspect is that she doesn't judge me. Although, I guess this differs from relationship to relationship, but I know that if I have an issue or a problem, she will be there supporting me, even if behind closed doors she tells me she doesn't agree. A third positive is that because you are in the same family, you can complain about other family members very easily, without having to give the boring backstory of who that relative is and what's their issue. The gossiping is just so much quicker. Of course, there are topics I tread lightly with my mom, and those are better left to girlfriends. 

With girlfriends, especially my European ones, I am not quite sure there is a topic we have not discussed. We go into massive details, reminiscing on every little part of every situation. This of course leads to some unnecessary over-thinking on our part, but we learn to manage. I have 2 good friends here in Hungary, and although we don't see each other often, when we do, the 4 hours and 2 bottles of wine never seems to be enough.

We have endless stories to tell each other, guys to complain about, and advice to ask for. We talk about everything from money, to boys, to relationships, to work, and everything in between! When guys wonder if we talk about all of their dirty secrets, we totally do. But, if we look at it a different way, this benefits the guys because we are gaining invaluable advice from our girlfriends that could be used to better EVERY part of our relationship, DUH ;)

At the end of the day, regardless of if you are a people person or not, it's human nature to need to talk to someone and be around people sometimes. From experience, it's hard to make friends, but the ones you do have, that are great, really make life more fun and interesting. And when all else fails and those friends get annoyed by you, at least you know you always have your mother to turn to #dianasays