My girlfriends have changed me for good ...

My college roommate and best friend, Barb (aka: Suzie - the code name for her in a bar if we didn't want to give away her real name!), inspires me with her thoughtfulness. She's a great listener, gift-giver (in fact, she could be up for this Month's Girlfriendology Contest!) and always makes my birthdays, meals together and our conversations special. In true Barb fashion, last week she brought me the soundtrack to Wicked so I could listen to it before seeing the play this past Saturday in Chicago.

If you haven't seen Wicked yet, I'd highly recommend it. It really is a 'girlfriend story' about Glinda and Elphaba (the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch). They form an unexpected and deep friendship that deals with several twists and turns along the way in Oz. Without ruining it for you, they share a very special song at the end about being friends. It made me cry (both in the car listening to the CD Barb gave me and during the live performance) because it so wonderfully shares the sentiment of girlfriends:

GLINDA
I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

I know Barb (and the other girlfriends who bless my life) came into my life for a reason and that because I knew them, I have been changed for good. This being Thanksgiving, it is a perfect time to be thankful for girlfriends. Thanks Barb for your lifelong friendship. Thanks to you for reading. Take time to thank your wonderful female friends for how they've changed your life. And, make an effort to make your girlfriends' lives better by your friendship. Together we're all changed for good.

p.s. Do you have a girlfriend who's changed your life for good? Share about it in our Monthly Girlfriendology Contest or by adding comments to this blog. Inspire others. That's another great benefit of girlfriends!