The foot-long noodle...

I remember reading a book last year that listed all of the different types of friends a new mother should have. At the time I thought it sounded outdated and ridiculous but I have been taking a mental inventory lately of my friends and have discovered that perhaps the author was right. Perhaps it is good to not only have a wide variety of friends but I think it’s also a good idea to acknowledge some of them. The list below is not all inclusive and I would love to recognize everyone, perhaps in future posts.

So, ladies, you know who you are…

1. The Single Friend- I have several of these and I love hanging out with them because it’s relaxing and they have a great perspective on life. Plus, they don’t ever have to compare schedules with their spouse or look for a babysitter.

2. The Childless Friend- I also have several of these but the first one that comes to mind lives far away. I’m not sure that she’ll ever have children and I love living vicariously through her and her stories. Her and her husband don’t do a lot of traveling or spend money like crazy so I think that if Jake and I didn’t have Rachel we would be a lot like them. She’s good for me because she makes me laugh, is well educated and is honest and open, but not too pushy, with her opinions.

3. The Possible Future Mom Friend- OK, this gal lives even further away. I love telling her horror stories about my pregnancy but I know that if she ever decides to have children she’s going to do just fine and will make a wonderful mommy. She puts ideas into my head and is great at thinking outside the box.

4. The Experienced Mom Friend- Thank God for these people. I am lucky enough to have surrounded myself with lots of experienced moms and am so glad that they encounter situations first and then pass the important stuff onto me. Having them around is like being covered by a union that doesn’t require me to pay fees but makes sure my paycheck keeps coming.

5. The “Seasoned” Friend- Because I entered the workforce at a fairly young age many of my coworkers have been a lot older than me. In fact, most of them have children my age. I can not stress enough how important these people have been in both my professional and personal growth.

6. The Work Friend- Out of all of the coworker friends I have ever had I can not imagine life without my current work friend. We have so much in common that it’s scary to compare our almost parallel lives, and in the fairly short amount of time that we have known each other we have been through a lot of work and non-work related stuff. If we ever get other jobs I hope we stay in contact because if I’m going to spend this much time away from my actual family I need her to always be a part of my work family.

7. The Best Friend- She lives far away and I miss her dearly (Am I seeing a pattern here, why do my friends feel the need to live so far away?) but she is always just a phone call away. She knows me better than anyone else, is very resourceful, has a great eye for deals, gives sound advice, is goal oriented and always seems to have the right words in every situation. And if you ever meet her you should ask her about the foot-long noodle….