I am so thankful to have some wonderful women and couples in my life who I can call my friends. They are all completely unique, but I can say with confidence that they are all thoughtful, supportive, kind, and most of all, present. A lot of my friends are in a similar stage of life as me, the toddler stage. A lot of my friends are single, a lot of my friends are a part of a couple who my husband and I both call friends. And, a lot of my friends are friends (isn’t that the best)!
I also find it interesting how a friendship can 
sometimes naturally become a specific role. Maybe it’s a comfort zone thing, but without intention, you can often settle into the role of coffee-date friend, play-date friend, lunch friend, travel friend, or shopping friend – all of which are important. Of course, I have done a variety of activities with many of my friends, but there always seems to be the old fall back maneuver that tends to be the “go to” for you and a particular friend (i.e. coffee, playgrounds, the mall). Today, I want to highlight the “coffee-date friend”.
The coffee-date friend sometimes sees the worst sides of you. The coffee-date friend hears about the pain-points in your life. Yes, she also hears about the victories and hilariously awkward situations you wind up in, but she also gets dumped with all of the pain and heartache that occurs in everyday life. There is something about warm caffeinated beverages that really brings out the emotions! The coffee-date friend successfully holds the joy and sorrow of your life in one hand and reminds you that life is not an “either” but a “both”.
For the past 4 years I have had a coffee-date friend. A friend whom I saw much more frequently than on coffee-dates, but our coffee-dates were always a priority for us. We walked through being new mothers together, my postpartum depression, grief, life decisions, diagnoses, career changes, the loss of a niece, a scary delivery for a sister-in-law. We fed babies over coffee, sat on random curbs in a pandemic, and laughed until we cried.
Unfortunately, my coffee-date friend moved away last month. So, while this is a tribute to all of my friends and the incredibly intentional role they play in my life, this is a particular shout out to her. Thank you for meeting me where I am. Thank you for making me laugh. Thank you for being a safe place for my heartache to land. I will always hold our friendship close to my heart.
Here’s to coffee dates over the phone!
