They know all your secrets. They can name your old elementary and high school crushes, your most embarrassing moments, your biggest regrets. They know the one you love and the ones that got away. They celebrate your greatest achievements and empathize with your wish-you-could-do-overs.

You don’t have to be wordy in texts, phone calls, or conversations—you get one another. Weeks, months, and sometimes even years may pass, and you pick up right where you left off. Laughter with your crew is like none other—unrefined, unrestrained, childhood bliss relived.

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You’ve been there for each other through past betrayals, break-ups, and heartaches. You’ve rejoiced in each other’s real deals—the engagements and the weddings. You’ve celebrated together and revered every child conceived.

You’ve advised each other through various trials and tribulations of marriage and motherhood. The run-of-the-mill stuff; the enormous, life-altering stuff; and everything in between.

Now, middle-age is in full swing and the changes keep coming. We’ll encourage one another to never stop learning and to keep aging with dignity, humor, beauty, and grace. We know too many that weren’t given the privilege of growing older, so we won’t resent it. We’ll hold all our loved ones as close as we can.

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We’ll be wiser from (past and current) pain and loss. We’ll be eternally grateful and embrace the sweetness of every day and the joy and security of steady love. We’ll cartwheel and dance and not give a hoot about uncaring opinions.

We’ll continually thank God for our minds, our health, and for every last thing we’ve been given. We’ll thank Him for our parents and how they raised us. We’ll thank Him for our families—our spouses, our in-laws, our siblings, our kids, daughters and sons-in-law, precious grandbabies—and for every single old and new treasured friend we’ve ever been blessed with. We will continually thank God for it all. We sure do thank Him for each other. Lifelong friends are golden.

Originally published on the author’s blog