SanAngeloMoms

I remember, as a young Girl Scout, singing a song about friends:
"Make new friends, but keep the old, 
One is silver and the other's gold."
(Those of you who were Girl Scouts probably can't get that tune out of your head now- you're welcome :) )

I have realized that through different  phases of our lives, that verse takes on different meanings, all with the same purpose.

As a little girl, it was just a little song to sing, with a catchy tune (is it still in your head??), but it was actually teaching a lifelong lesson.

Watching my teenage daughter deal with her (comparatively minor) friendship dramas, I remember the song again. A junior in high school, she has friends that she has known since elementary school. Occasionally, they all have disagreements:

"I wish she wouldn't date that guy, I don't like him."
"She can be so immature sometimes!"
"Why does she have to act like that when she's around (another friend)? She doesn't act that way when we're alone!"

While I know that these are all typical things said by all teenagers (and some adults) at one time or another, I have taught her to be especially protective of the friends she's had for so long. They are the ones who really "know" my daughter, and she is the one that really "knows" them.

And they love each other, even with their teenage idiosyncrasies.They would do whatever they can to help each other when they need it, without a second thought.

I talked to a "gold" friend earlier today, and caught up with all that is going on in her world. After more than an hour on the phone, I know what's happening with work, her family, and her new exercise routine. But during that conversation, we reminisced about when we lived closer, saw each other every day, and laughed about "old times."

Tonight, I went to our monthly SanAngeloMoms' "Moms Night Out."

I sat talking to two women new to our group, my new "silver" friends, then stopped talking for a  few minutes to let them talk to each other about some things they had in common. I looked to the other side of the table, and listened as five other moms, who have known each other about a year (and met through SanAngeloMoms) chatted and laughed with each other.

I just love watching the relationships moms form with other moms- we all have an instant bond- the bond of motherhood- and yet have our own unique stories to tell while we strengthen those bonds.

While, yes, I have my "gold" friends, whom I share a history with, and can pick up a conversation with at any time, it is my "silver" friends that I have to make new memories with.

I wonder which one(s) of the moms at the table with me tonight I will be talking with ten years from now, reminiscing about when our children were young?

I also wonder, at which point do friends change from "silver" to "gold?" How long is a new friend a "new" friend? The women to my right were laughing and reminiscing in a way not too different from the way my friend and I were on the phone earlier today.

The women to my left seemed to have a lot in common, and could easily become good friends.

So here is what I have decided... It is always important to make new, "silver" friends, because you never know which of those friends will eventually become "gold."

If you're lucky, you'll have two or three truly gold friends that are lifelong friends (I call them platinum).

But, it is also a blessing to have "newer gold" friends in your circle as well- people whom you've shared a few memories with, yet are living life with you now.

For me, that is the purpose of SanAngeloMoms- to help us increase the size of our "circle." And, it doesn't matter whether the friendship circle is silver or gold- Just like jewelry, all girls need a little bit of both!