Day 36: Proekt 365
To all my Thelmas & Louises

No film captures the bond of friendship and ‘family’ I feel towards my closest girlfriends more than Thelma and Louise. Steel Magnolias comes very close, but can also just as easily apply to some of my very best guy friends as well. (In fact, there is one particular friend for whom that film fits better…but, I digress.) There is something specifically about Thelma and Louise as individuals and the journey they share which reflects just what I would do and how far I’d go for my sisters—the sisters I may not share a last name with, but with whom I share a very deep and real bond.

Today was all about sharing moments with some of my ‘sistahs’ in Helsinki. I didn’t get to see all of those I’d like to have (you know who you are and it will happen soon, damnit!), but I saw more than I’d expected to when I walked out the door this afternoon. That’s fine by me.

In the few stolen moments I scheduled for some quality time with my girlfriends, my plan was initially for a late lunch with one friend who is currently house-bound due to an unfortunate pasta accident. We were delightfully joined by another friend who is moving on far too soon to another country — the awful part about being an expat, but one we all deal with in whatever way we can. At this point, any chance we get to schedule quick meet ups and a few more moments of face-to-face bonding are very welcome. Before heading home, I decided to try to squeeze in a quick cup of tea to catch up with yet another girlfriend I’d not seen in a while. And, then, there was the random running in to yet another girlfriend at the supermarket whose been on my mind and I’d not seen lately.

Basically, it was all about the ladies today.

I’m very fortunate. In every place I’ve lived, I’ve met and been lucky enough to get to know and become close friends with some truly extraordinary women, most of whom are still in my life today. Despite many years and miles separating us, I’m quite confident that we’d easily pick up right where we left off the last time we saw one another given our all-too-infrequent communiques these days.

But, here in Helsinki, perhaps more so than in any other moment in my life, I feel downright blessed by the closeness and extent of what I’ve come to view as my sisterhood of girlfriends. All of the women I know and love here are incredibly talented, smart, witty and truly special in one way or another. They are as varied as women everywhere are, and each has taught me something important at key moments. We’ve been through some shit together as each of us has had to deal with life’s more challenging aspects on various occasions. And, I can only hope to be there for them a fraction as much as they’ve been there for me.

I don’t have my own picture from today. How could I pick just one instant to capture given the many moments of joy these girlfriends of mine provided? So, I’m borrowing Thelma and Louise, partially because I love this particular image so much, but also because I want all of those women who I’m lucky enough to call my friends to know that I’d do just about anything for them.

Good. Bad. Near. Far. New. Old. And everything in between, y’all bring more to my world than I’ll ever deserve and infinitely more than I ever expected. I love ya, sistahs! This post is for you.