We spent last weekend with one of my very best friends – Doreen, and her husband Mark. Doreen and I have known each other since we were freshmen at Wheaton and we have been incredibly close friends ever since – going on 32 years now. We were in each other’s weddings, she and Mark are Hannah’s godparents and I am the godmother of their oldest son. I can’t call Doreen my  only best friend because I am blessed to have other women in my life who are very close friends, as well (waving to Jo-Ann now). But I have to give her credit today because she came up with this week’s Ten On Tuesday topic: 10 Things You Love To Do With Your Best Friend.

1. Shop. Gift shops, yarn shops, fabric shops – it’s all good and it’s all best done with a friend.
2. Drink wine. Doreen has a sign in her kitchen that reads “we ought to be opening a bottle of wine”. And we do, quite regularly.
3. Make fancy cocktails. For when we don’t feel like wine.
4. Eat. Whether we go to a fancy restaurant like we did Friday night, or we stay in and get take out sushi like we did Saturday night, or we cook together like we used to do when we were younger and couldn’t afford dinner out, eating together is right at the top of my list.
5. Sit and chat. We talk about everything – books we’ve read, the stuff our kids do, the stuff our husbands do, work, football, tv shows and more. I could talk with any of my friends for hours and never run out of topics or things to say.
6. Take a road trip. Somewhere close, like visiting Jo-Ann (and Kim!) in New Hampshire or somewhere tropical like when we went to Mexico with Sharon and Al or somewhere far away like our upcoming trip to Vegas – there’s nothing like a vacation with a friend.
7. Support each other. This is the most important one on this list, I think. When I need help making a decision, when I am troubled or scared, when I have something joyful to share, it’s often my best friends who support me and help me through.
8. Play games and cards. Outdoor games like Yard Yahtzee or indoor games like Quiddler and Phase 10, I love to sit down and have fun (and get a little competitive) with a girlfriend or two.
9. Volunteer. You know I love Kiwanis and one of the reasons I do is because we have so much fun while we are working to make our community a better place. It’s also how I met Jo-Ann so I couldn’t possibly leave it off my list.
10. Go to the beach. Hanging out at the beach is one of my favorite things to do and I’m glad to have the chance to have done it with many of my closest friends over the years, whether it’s been at a campground with Anne, or the lake with Jo-Ann, Mexico with Sharon, or Cape Cod with Doreen – the beach is my happy place and being in my happy place with a best friend makes it happiest of all.

This was one of the fastest lists I ever wrote and I had a hard time limiting it to ten, I can tell you that! Thanks, Doreen, for the great topic suggestion, and thanks to all of the women in my life who love me!

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