#MyGlossyFriend: 'Our Lives Are Woven Together Like a Tapestry' - The Gloss Magazine

#MyGlossyFriend: ‘Our Lives Are Woven Together Like a Tapestry’

WE ARE CELEBRATING FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS WITH A SERIES OF STORIES AND WE’D LIKE YOU TO TAKE PART … DO YOU HAVE A FEMALE FRIEND WHO HAS KEPT YOU AFLOAT THIS PAST YEAR, OR ONE YOU HAVE MISSED AND LONG TO SEE WHEN LOCKDOWN ENDS? …

Where would we be without our female friends? The friends who have supported us through lockdown, made us laugh, shared our sadness and our joy, been there for us at the toughest of times, in person or at a distance.

If ever there was a time for the consolations of female friendship, it’s now. Not so much a shoulder to cry on (although sometimes that too) as an arm to lean on, a hand to squeeze, a sympathetic ear. Such is the nature of this particularly fraught and endless phase of this pandemic that nothing is quite so out of reach.

But soon we can really enjoy our friends again … what will we do, what will we talk about?

For the next ten weeks on thegloss.ie, we will celebrate female friendships with a series of stories and we’d like you to take part … Do you have a female friend who has kept you afloat this past year, or one you have missed and long to see when lockdown ends?

Tell us why your friend is fabulous, what makes your friendship work and send us a photograph of you two together. Email digital@thegloss.ie or share on Instagram, using the hashtag #MyGlossyFriend.

This week, THE GLOSS reader Louise O’Sullivan on a friendship that will last a lifetime … 

This woman is so much a part of who I am and my story I couldn’t imagine things any other way. Very few people in our lives are consistent, some pass through for a period of time and then we let each other go to move on to the next phase of our journey but those small few who you connect with throughout each chapter of life are rare. My friend, Ruth, is more like a sister to me than just a friend. We’ve known each other our entire lives having grown up on the same road. Now both in our thirties we’ve witnessed both the best and worst life events to date with each other. I can say without any doubt that I can completely be myself around her. No filters are needed for our moods or our conversations and that is something I deeply appreciate. There is an honesty between us and a mutual respect that allows our friendship to thrive.

Some of my earlier memories of our friendship consist of multiple different games in our estate. Hours, days, months, and years filled with imaginative games of chase, hide and seek, tip the can and too many others to name. It was simply fun and something we both now look back on and realise was a blissful time. Carefree childhood days and a bank of memories to reflect on. As we got older and ventured into our teenage years, we both worked in a local restaurant for three years together. This was both of our first time working so we learned what a hard day’s work was but equally we have some hilarious tales from that chapter that we reminisce about regularly. We collected our leaving cert results together and both ventured to Limerick for college. Although in different colleges, the anxieties about living away from home and all the adventures that milestone brings was another shared experience. We have travelled to Barcelona, New York, and Oslo together and even in negative situations we still manage to have fun one way or the other.

One of the main things I love about our friendship is we often find ourselves making major life decisions in tandem without having any idea the other is making a pivotal move themselves. I remember one time in particular when Ruth called to my door. It was a December evening. I opened the door and she revealed massive news that I had no idea was coming and I responded with “I quit my job”! Both of us were shocked at the others news but although equally hard decisions, we knew each of us had made the right one and we laughed amidst the chaos and uncertainty of it all.

I have grown up with this woman from a toddler to a teenager to a woman and quite simply we have shared too much together to sum up. This piece is just a glimpse of thirty plus years of friendship. Our families are friends and our lives are almost woven together like a tapestry. She’s seen me at my worst and supported me, she’s celebrated my achievements and encouraged me after disappointments. She offers honest advice whenever I need it. She’s kind, thoughtful, generous, caring, trustworthy and a pillar of strength, although I don’t think she gives herself nearly enough credit. We don’t always have the answers to solve the ups and downs of life for each other, but we always offer an ear to vent to. Throughout the last twelve months and this pandemic she has always been there to listen, whether it be a mundane voice note on WhatsApp about the daily grind or a sobbing phone call amidst a low period, it didn’t matter. I believe Ruth will be a part of my life until we are grey and old and hopefully we will still be sharing new adventures and experiences even in our golden years!

Now it’s your turn to share your story. Tell us why your friend is fabulous, what makes your friendship work and send us a photograph of you two together. Email digital@thegloss.ie or share on Instagram, using the hashtag #MyGlossyFriend.

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