My Posses

After watching Grey's Anatomy the other night and then watching the TVWOP forum implode over the mass Izzy hate train and the whole Cristina/Burke "she's (Meredeth) my person" argument, I started thinking about my girlfriends and what role they play in my life. I have lots of girlfriends who fit into nice categories. My posses:

My Doc Posse: This posse consists of three women, Tracy, Lisa, and Kristi. These three are the ones with whom I attend almost every class, participate in every group presentation, and who have kept me gong with this school gig over the last 2 years. We meet for dinner several times a semester, and they are usually 3+ hour affairs. After B and my family, they will receive serious props when I draft my dissertation acknowledgments. They are the driving forces behind my completion of this program. In any other situation I don't know if we would be friends, but just like people who bond during a tragic event like a hijacking or being trapped in an elevator for several days, we will be there for life.

My Work Posse: These are my work g-friends, Lori, Tami, and Jen. The ones I trust to make the days better, and who let me vent about my job. They are in the same boat as me, so usually someone is available to lend a comforting shoulder, juicy gossip, a snarky remark, or a big piece of cake when the stress hits. You wouldn't think that what I do is stressful. I mean, it's not like I'm rescuing children and puppies from burning buildings or trying to find a cure for cancer; nothing so heroic. What's stressful is that I (well we) are dealing with people's money. I can't think of anything more stressful than that. We know personal things about each other, but I don't know if we would have ever met had it not been for work. So I guess that's a good thing about having my job.

My Bloggy Posse: These women, Shannon 1, Shannon 2, and Susan aka The Tiara Girls, are my g-friends I met through blogging about China adoption. But that was the starting point. Susan and I visited the King last June, and hit it off like long lost soul sisters. Soon after that trip I began emailing my virtual twin, Shannon. Again, another soul sister! Later, I met the Shannons and Susan in Sept for a weekend of unspeakable fun. China adoption and blogging may be what brought us together, but we have so much more in common. Matter of fact, our weekend together consisted of no real discussion about adoption, we were too busy talking, laughing, gossiping, bonding, and just having fun it never really came up. We've kept in touch via the World Wide Web since then, and oh, to read some of the emails! If you are naive enough to thing that bloggers don't gossip about each other, you are in for a rude awakening.

My Persons Posse: Like Cristina, these are the women who would help me remove the corpse. They are the friends that have been there through thick and thin. They've seen me at the best times of my life, and have endured my darkest days. Rachael has been in my life the longest, almost 20 years. Caroline came in about 10 years ago, with Alicia rounding it out at 6 years. Out of the three, I see Caroline the most frequently because she and I work together. Rachael and Alicia are busy taking care of their families and working full-time, so seeing them, talking on the phone, and spending time with them doesn't happen as often as we would all like. Nevertheless, these woman are the sisters of my heart, and my life is better with them in it. No matter how often or little I see them.

So those are my posses. Four posses with three women in each. All are vitally important to my sanity. I love my girlfriends.