Girlfriends

Where Do You Spend Most of Your Time?

If you're like me, it's the workplace. And I’ve been incredibly fortunate to find what I lovingly call my mothership. For the past 20 years, I’ve worked in the same place, surrounded by a group of women who started as coworkers and evolved into chosen sisters.

I’ve always been nerdy, goofy, and loud—and this place embraced all of it. The women I work with are some of the most intelligent, confident, and hilarious people I’ve ever known. They’re supportive in ways that go far beyond the office walls. We celebrate each other’s highs, lift each other through the lows, and laugh—oh, how we laugh.

I hope this kind of environment isn’t rare, because it makes work not just bearable, but joyful. Still, I know that for many, transitioning from “work friends” to “real-life friends” can be tricky. Life is busy—family, responsibilities, church, travel. But here’s how we make it happen: we plan.

We live by our calendars. We have a cleverly named group text that’s funny only to us. We schedule events that always start with food and build from there. One night it was dinner, drinks, and arts and crafts. Another time, breakfast followed by a spa day—each of us booked our own treatments, and between sessions, we lounged by the pool. We’ve thrown baby showers, engagement parties, and spontaneous lunches. We've even taken pickle ball classes together. We've celebrated, commiserated, and mourned together. And when we can’t meet in person, we flood the group chat with memes, TikToks, inside jokes, weekend photos, and all the tea.

Busy women have busy schedules. But when you’ve got a crew like this—women who are not only colleagues but confidantes—you grab that calendar and make it happen. Because life is better with your girls than without them.

So how do you and your girlfriends stay in touch and what is your favorite thing to do together?