The Sweetest Mother's Day Gift!

Dear old friends,

I miss you.

I miss you so much it hurts sometimes.

After college, we tried hard at first, getting together and catching up as often as we could.

We were at each other’s weddings and first baby showers. All celebrating the next big things in our lives together. I never imagined a big celebration without you all in it. 

A few months apart turned into a few years, and now it feels like a lifetime since we were even in the same room together.

We’ve lost touch over the years, and as I found myself neck-deep in motherhood, it became extremely challenging trying to stay on top of keeping my kids alive and keeping our friendships alive as well.

RELATED: Sometimes Motherhood Makes Keeping Friendships Alive Hard

You see, motherhood has rocked me to my core and worn me thin. I have been weary and overwhelmed trying to balance it all. I can barely muster up the energy for my family needs, let alone trying to string together a sentence if we were to hangout.

My heart aches for you as I sit down after a long day and think of all the special times we had together.

It was a blastfull of laughs, inside jokes, and late nights together. We shared clothes, secrets, and favorite television shows.

There were the sad moments, too when tears fell down our cheeks as we handled break ups, failed courses, and hard disappointments.

We navigated through adulthood together. Always there for each other to figure out what we didn’t know and enjoying the freedom that came with living on our own.

I think what I miss most is how comfortable our friendship was. It was so easy. You loved me for me, and I didn’t have to pretend to be anyone I wasn’t. I didn’t have to ever wonder if you liked me or not.

RELATED: A Good Friend Doesn’t Make You Question Where You Stand With Her

We were honest with each other, sometimes too honest, but that is what made our friendship so special.

You always made me feel included. You always made me feel loved. You always made me feel worthy.

I think what I hate the most is that we are not sharing motherhood together because I could really use the company trying to figure out how to do this mommy thing the right wayif there even is a right way. Or we could at least laugh about it. I know your encouraging words and smiles would be the balm to my mama soul.

I am so thankful for what we shared together. I hope that once life settles down, we can pick up right where we left offlaughing, crying, and enjoying the next season of our lives together.

RELATED: To the Friends Who Stay—Thank You

Until then, I am still your number one fan, cheering you on from a distance and praying for you with all my heart.  

Love,
Your forever friend

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Amber  Palmer 

Amber is a busy mom of two kiddos, wife, and blogger over at My Jars of Clay. When she is not homeschooling her daughter, you can find her writing to encourage other moms and helping them keep their focus on Jesus. Amber enjoys spending her time reading, singing when no one is around, and throwing random dance parties in her kitchen. She loves connecting with other moms in person and over on Instagram.

Maybe that “Mean Mom” Is Just Busy

In: Friendship
Woman walking away

Ever since Ashley Tisdale wrote about leaving her toxic mom group, I have noticed something shift among women my age, moms in our 40s who built friendships through school drop-offs, soccer sidelines, neighborhood walks, and birthday parties. Here is the thing….no one wants to be labeled the “mean girls mom group.” Recently, I was out to dinner with a friend when she shared something that stuck with me. A woman had quietly left their local moms’ group and later treated them as if they were exclusionary. The final straw? She had sent a group text at dinnertime and no one...

Keep Reading

We Fell Out of Friendship

In: Friendship
Woman gazing out window with coffee

It was just a normal Monday afternoon, sitting in the waiting room at the dentist’s office. I had one kid reading her Kindle quietly, one loudly proclaiming facts about the different fish in the large tank, and one arguing with her just because he could. I had completed all the forms online before our appointment, so we were simply waiting. Then you walked in. You, who used to be the sister of my heart.  Summers of sleeping in tents in my parents’ backyard, while you told me terrifying stories. The smell of hairspray from ’90s dance recitals while we twirled...

Keep Reading

True Friends Trust You with Real Life

In: Friendship
Two women sitting, one with head on other's shoulder

I used to think the mark of real friendship was inclusion. If I got invited to the brunch, the beach trip, the weekend away, the cute, coordinated outings, then I must matter. Those moments felt like proof that I belonged. But as life kept unfolding, something softer and truer kept showing up. The deepest honor in friendship is not being included in the pretty moments.It is being trusted with the honest ones. I realized it the day a friend asked me to come over even though she was behind on absolutely everything. I walked through her doorway and straight into...

Keep Reading

The Mom Friends You Make by Default Are Pretty Great

In: Friendship
Two women sitting on back porch laughing

I never thought I would expand my group of friends in my mid-30s and 40s. As an introvert, I wasn’t seeking any new people to include in my friend circle. I was perfectly happy with my existing friends, all of whom I could count on one hand. But then I had kids, and my kids had friends they wanted to hang out with frequently. Which meant I was forced to befriend their friends’ parents—particularly their moms. Of course, this didn’t mean I needed to be best friends with every mom I met. And that didn’t happen. But I did happen...

Keep Reading

The Friends You’ve Had Since Childhood Are Special

In: Friendship
90s young friends sipping soda out of cups at table

I never thought the girl I used to hang out with in Grade 5, talking about Trolls and Tamagotchis with, would be the woman I now go on weekly walks with, talking about lack of sleep and perimenopause. I never thought the girl I used to sit beside in elementary school would end up being my maid of honor, and I hers, and that I would end up babysitting her toddler one day. I never thought the girl I used to have sleepovers and watch Blockbuster movies with back in high school would be the woman I set up playdates...

Keep Reading

The Women In My Life Have become My Lifeline

In: Friendship, Living
Group Of Smiling Mature Female Friends Walking Arm In Arm Along Path

In my early 20s, I thought all I ever wanted or needed was a man to love and who loved me back. We could ride off into the sunset and build our beautiful family together. The white picket fence dream. I met a man when I was twenty-one that I fell head over heels in love with. I shaped my whole life around him and our future together. We had bumps like anyone at first, but after a while troubling red flags began to appear. I ignored them, blinded by my love for this man. I isolated myself from friends...

Keep Reading

True Friendship Is a Give and Take

In: Friendship
Friends walking and laughing together

Have you ever had one of those friends who wants to be invited to all the things and be “in the know”—but doesn’t show up in the ways that count? They seem to take far more than they give, yet expect the world of their friends? What do you do with that? I have an incredible group of female friends, but over the past two years, it slowly became apparent that some relationships weren’t healthy. It felt like some were missing reciprocity. If we didn’t open up, if we weren’t vulnerable, if we needed time to build trust, they became...

Keep Reading

Some Friends Don’t Journey with Us Forever

In: Friendship
Woman walking alone on beach holding sandals

It was a damp morning when we arrived in the UK after a week with my parents in the US. My family and I were about to collect our luggage when my phone pinged—it was my childhood best friend back in California, and she was thoroughly disappointed with me. Astonished and barely awake, I realized my immediate response was needed. The whole drive home, I had an anxious heart. I knew exactly why she was upset with me; however, I felt equally frustrated that she lacked grace. With regular annual trips between San Francisco and London, I had always been...

Keep Reading

Friendship Isn’t Something You Have, It’s Something You Nurture

In: Friendship
Two women smiling with backs together

Why does no one tell you that making a dear friend as an adult feels like coaxing life from rocky soil? In a season when people drift in and out like the tides, forging that rare, heart-sister connection feels less like stumbling into a kindred spirit and more like tending an unruly garden. Cultivating deep friendship in the chaos of motherhood—between nap schedules, grocery runs, and endless requests for snacks—takes patience, persistence, and the gentle art of intention. Gone are the days of childhood bonds formed effortlessly in the schoolyard or college dorms. Now, amidst the ever-spinning whirlwind of family...

Keep Reading

Here’s To the Friendships

In: Friendship
Women walking on beach

Here’s to the friendships. Here’s to the childhood friends. The friends who have grown up together. The friends who have seen us at our best and our worst. The friends who know each other’s secrets. The friends who know where we came from. The friends who made us laugh uncontrollably. The friends we ran to when our hearts were broken. The friends we stayed up with all night on the phone. The friends we got in trouble with and the friends we would get in trouble for. The friends who have seen us fall on our faces. The friends who...

Keep Reading