As I hoped for and expected, I received a beautiful bouquet of love stories after all the days of February had been filled. Hey the world could never have too much LOVE! Bring it on!
This is why I decided from the beginning of Guest Blogger Month it would be best to label each post by number, not by day! As well I didn’t add a name to each post as I had kept open the option that some folks might want to remain anonymous. That didn’t happen but at least people pouring out their souls in the name of love knew if they wanted to stay under the radar they could. Because these days everything and anything can be googled, so I get that many feel uncomfortable sharing personal feelings on their own virtual space. Especially bloggers that are being paid or sponsored (or hope to be). There is a sense that staying “on brand” is so important. Yet these same people often want to branch out and speak about other topics. And since LOVE is the universal language we can all find something to talk about, common ground if you will, on that awesome love wave length.
So here is the first flower in the bouquet I’d like to share. It is from the awesome Claire. One of my all time fav bloggers. Though we have never met in person I feel like we have. She featured me on one of her blogger spotlight segments. It was literally a major highlight for me! I have so much respect for her writing skills, her social media savvy and mostly her undying, unwavering support of her girl squad. Hence her love story is so apropos!
Let Female Friendship Reign Forever
“Let Friendship Reign Forever”. Those words are permanently etched on my skin- a tribute to the thing that keeps my head above water and brings immeasurable happiness into my life: Friendship.
Karen wants to focus on Love on her blog in February, and when I thought about Love, the first thing I thought of, after my boyfriend, was the wonderful friends I have in my life. There is no love greater than the love between a girl and her friends; it’s a special bond that has been through some serious batterings, and one that remains strong despite many tests and changes in life.
If you read my blog, you’ll know that I consider myself an Extroverted Introvert. I never had a huge group of friends and my general apprehension usually prevents me from getting too close to people. The people who break through the barrier are invaluable to me, and my love for them is enormous. Their love me is surprising and precious.
Female friendships get a bad rap- women, they say, are too underhanded, cold and bitchy to have real, meaningful friendships, and they hate to see their friends do well. Every time I hear or see a woman talking about female friendships being fake and riddled with bitterness, disdain and bad wishes, I experience an overwhelming sense of pity. These people have made friends with the wrong women, because the women that I have on my side fill my heart a unique kind of love and make my life a better life to live. It’s a love that can make the hardest days seem trouble free. It’s a love that can perform miracles, it makes me believe in myself, it makes me look after myself, it makes me love myself, I would go so far to say.
Female friendships hold us together when everything else is crumbling. With their pots of tea, bottles of wine, late night drives, midnight texts, dance floor antics and hour long lunches or dinners that turn into three, I’m not sure we could get through our darkest hours.
There is beauty in friendship between women that I have rarely seen eminated anywhere else, discounting the friendship between Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, who share the most beautiful love and friendship. It’s a love worth celebrating, and I ask of you, instead of seeing the bad in female friendships, created by a patriarchal mindset, see what I see: a life giving love where we celebrate each other’s success, make each other’s failures seem smaller. It’s a love I couldn’t live without. So when you’re finished reading this, pick up the phone and call or text your female friends and tell them how much you love their love, and how thankful you are to have them in your life.
BIO: I’ve been blogging since 2009, longer than most, and I’ve covered a wide range topics over the years. Clairebyreverie.com is my little comfort zone; a place where I can write about what I like in my own voice.
My website is a place for extroverted introverts- those of us who are energised by alone time but also thrive on the company of others (depending on the day!)
Blog: www.clairebyreverie.com
Snapchat: clairebysnap
Instagram: clairebyreverie
Twitter: @clairebyreverie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clairebyreverie
Thanks so much Claire for sharing that awesome girl power love story. You literally hit the nail on the head when you said female friendships are a love worth celebrating! You are a fabulous role model for that. Especially for celebrating the successes of others, which I know personally I have really appreciated. You are wise beyond your years and thankfully not an information hoarder. Quite the contrary, you are an information sharer which is so awesome in this competitive day and age! So thank you from the bottom, top, and sides of my heart!
Friendly LOVE,
YDP
