Good friends and bullying

Thanks for coming back. Hoping to make this not so serious, but some of it may be. A little insight into me and my friendships. Bitter but sweet, just as promised.

My family moved around a lot when my brother and I were kids. My dad had a great job with a great company but to get ahead in those days meant relocating. Kindergarten thru 8th grade were pure heaven. Great place to live (CA) and great friends. In the middle of 8th grade, we moved to upstate NY. My brother fared well there, me, not so much. A "friend" that I had just met was not at all pleased with the attention the nice, tan, CA girl was getting at her school. She befriended me and quickly stabbed me in the back. Months and months of rumors had me home "sick" for quite a bit. I did have a scrappy group of friends (Ron, Mike and Kelly) that pulled me thru the end of that time, but boy it was rough going. We moved a little after that, to a Chicago suburb, and I met the most amazing group of people I have ever met. The girls and boys I met in high school were by far the best group of people I have ever met. Shout out to St. Charles!!

I made friends easily in college but I was still so cautious with my friendships. I hadn't stayed in touch with any of my high school friends bcz I didn't see the value in it. Surely they had forgotten about me and our friendship.

Fast forward to 1999 and moving to where I am now. When husband number 2 and I moved into our place, we weren't married yet, my divorce from husband 1 wasn't final yet. I found it really hard to tell neighbors about our situation so I held back a lot. But the more and more I got to know these women, I was in love. This was the most diverse group of gals I had met and though some of us butted heads, we still were friends. That was UNHEARD of to me. You can argue and still be friends?? Nope, not possible.

Guess what? POSSIBLE. The core of us, though some in different neighborhoods and even states, still make time to see each other or connect via FB or email. And I have found my high school friends on FB. Even after all these years, they still care about me and my family.

Listen to your kids, don't blow off anything they say about being sad or scared.

Friends are the foundation for strength. Bullies be damned.

Cat