Forever Friends

I was chilled and damp all day it seemed - but it was worth venturing out into the city to meet up with Jilly - my friend of almost 40 years. Impossible! We met at our favourite Thai restaurant, and for the next two hours over shrimp satay and basil chicken, we slipped back into our easy, familiar "us", our friendship that is soft, worn flannel that gets better and more comfortable with each wash. We catch up, swap our parenting laments and marvel at how blessed our lives are. How lucky are we to have found one another. I think it is anything but luck! We are travel mates, accompanying one another on this fantastical journey - there to share, care and support when needed - unconditionally, eternally.

When we were little girls meeting for the first time, I told her that we would be best friends. It was a bold move but there was something about that tall, quiet unassuming girl with the long brown hair that told me in an instant that we would know each other forever. And I was right, and we have.