by Marisa Buchanan, NBC News producer
I didn't really buy it when Ann suggested doing a story on the importance of women's relationships as part of our series on the secrets to their success.
I had just planned a weekend with my best friends from college but somehow I didn't even equate it as a need important to my health. Boy, was I wrong! Turns out it's detrimental if you don't reach out.
Female friendships sustain you, really. There are a whole host of studies that show having friends you can rely on will benefit you in the end. It sounds simple, but it's true! Friends can help you cope with stress, live longer and be successful.
If you take a second to think about it, friendships can both support and inspire us in our lives. Whether they are childhood buddies whom you have followed through the years, or newly found companions encountered later in life, friends keep us grounded, and give us new life when times get tough.
Recently, we met a group of women in Minnesota who have put together a bridge club. The women came together after meeting on the job as social workers back in 1968. Almost 40 years later, the women still get together at least once a month to catch up on their lives and share stories from the past. Although different members have come and gone through the years, these spirited women have all learned and grown from their friendship with one another. These women are a great example of the power and importance of friendship. Through joys, ill health and even at the end of life.
Our crew spent the day outside the Twin Cities talking with and observing these wonderful women [click video clip to the left]. It was delightful to laugh and reminisce with these lovely ladies and find out how much you can have in common with someone that you've just met. A new friendship formed. Ann and I were inspired and reinvigorated to head back to New York that night and rekindle our own friendships. I picked up the phone and told my college friends that our planned trip was in fact critical to our wellbeing!
Oftentimes we may think that friends are common in life. We take them for granted and push them aside when other things in our life seem more important, but by working on this story and speaking with this unique group of women we found out that friends are not only crucial to success, but can actually save your life in more ways than one.
Photo Credit: Marisa Buchanan/NBC News
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Self-Help Guide: Making and Keeping Friends
For those later in life: Golden Girl Homes
For women of color: The Rich Black Girls Network
Maiden Lady: Find Your Friends
iVillage Related Links
• 5 Friends That Every Woman Needs
• 6 Toxic Friends You Should Lose!
• How to Make and Keep New Friends!
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--Posted by kuusoyir stanislaus, Accra
Are there any Bunco Groups in the Texarkana area ?
--Posted by Sandi S, texarkana, TX
I have a close group of girlfriends that we've been getting together now for over 10 years! At first it was monthly but now with husbands or significant others, families, careers, college, graduate school, children, and even medical school we get together more like every 2-3 months. When we do, it's the most loving, comfortable environment with laughter and tears all rolled up. We've sheltered each other through marriage, children, deaths, and divorce. All while supporting each other in both little and big ways. Our Girl Dinner group (or GD as we like to call it) has had its members move away and new ones come in just like the group you featured tonight. But no matter how far flung we are (and some us have gone pretty far up the eastern seaboard), we are ALWAYS in touch via phone, email, and IM. If there's one thing for certain in this life I know those girls have my back for anything I need, and I will always be there for them. GD forever!!!!!
--Posted by prplraven, Austin, TX
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Our friendships started at ball fields when our children played sports. We started a Bunco Group. We have played once a month for the past 23 years. We have shared sad times which included sickness, divorces and even death. We have also shared good times such as our children's weddings and grandchildren. We can laugh at ourselves as we age but also support one another. Close friends are a true Blessing from God and we are so thankful to have a FAMILY OF CLOSE FRIENDS which also includes the husbands. We hope everyone knows this feeling.
--Posted by Linda Jones, Cape Coral, FL
I have the same group of friends for the past 30 years. We are there for each other in the good times and the bad times. We have weathered cancer, divorce, grandchildren and death. I know that whatever happens my friends will be there for me. They are really more than friends they are my family. We have shared the better part of our adult lives together. I consider myself so lucky because I not only have one best friend but a whole group of best friends.
--Posted by Mare, Berwick, PA
this is absolutely true! I am 35 and have a girl-friend i've knwn for 28 of them. Without her, i couldn't survive. I can tell her things i wouldn't dream of telling my own husband! She's my therapy and a God-send!!!
--Posted by anonymous, richmond, VA
