AROUND THE CORNER STORE

A young wife sat on a sofa in Bukit Timah on a hothumid day, 

drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. 

As they talked about life, marriage, responsibilities of life and the obligations

of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully

and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter.

"Don't forget your girlfriends," she advised, swirling the tea leaves to

the bottom of her glass. "They'll be more important as you get older.

No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the

children you'll have, you are still going to need girlfriends. 

Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with

them. And remember that girlfriends" are not only your friends, but your

sisters your daughters, and other relatives too. You'll need other women. 

Women always do."

 	"What a funny piece of advice," the young woman

thought. "Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the

couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake, a grownup, not a

young girl who needs girlfriends!

Surely my husband and the family we'll start will be all I need to make

my life worthwhile!' But she listened to her Mother; she kept contact

with her girlfriends and made more each year. As the

years tumbled by,

one after another, she gradually came to understand

that her Mom really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature

work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, 

girlfriends are the mainstays of her life. 

After 50 years of living in this world, here is

what I've learned:

> >Time passes.

> >Life happens.

> >Distance separates.

> >Children grow up.

> >Love waxes and wanes.

> >Hearts break.

> >Careers end.

> >Jobs come and go.

> >Parents die.

> >Colleagues forget favors.

> >Men don't call when they say they will.

> >BUT girlfriends are there, no matter how much time and how many

miles are between you.

A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her can reach. 

When you have to walk that lonesome valley, and you have to

walk it for yourself,

your girlfriends will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying

for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with

open arms at the valley's end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you. 

Or come in and carry you out. My friends bless my life! 

The world wouldn't be the same without them, and neither would I. Every day,

we need each other still.