Friendship Circle

These girls are a significant part of my support crew, minus a couple who couldn’t make it for the recent getaway. Last year we experienced Udaipur together, this year we experienced the local beauty and went to Noosa for the Good Food and Wine Festival to support my baby sister, it was her first time as Director of the festival, she did a great job. We have known each other from childhood, through all the stages, to womanhood. We have ticked most of the life boxes that were expected, now we are all trying to do whatever makes us and everyone around us the happiest, with various degrees of success.

We have all experienced love from; having children, caring parents, tight knit siblings, loyal friends, life partners (the fathers of our children), exciting lovers and have learnt the hardest lessons as we have embraced self-love later in life. We share all our learnings and experiences unconditionally with each other. When we all share stories, it is so funny and I love it when they say “Oh Emma, you didn’t!!” that’s when I know I might have gone too far in a good way, because once the dust settles it will be something I can write about (if I survive).

We are the middle transitional generation, raised by mothers who weren’t tertiary educated, didn’t work and whose main role was to look after the family, cook and clean, my version of prison. Most of our mothers would never experience what we have all experienced, we would be classified as rebels if compared to our mothers.

We were raised by traditional fathers who didn’t really encourage their girls to speak up for what they wanted. All of us have loved and admired our father deeply. We should have listened to our fathers advise prior to settling for the first hint of marriage. We probably didn’t get the opportunity to talk openly to our fathers about how we were feeling. These fathers were raised to be strong.

We have now all produced and raised children who are self-driven, independent and ask for what they want and have a voice (mostly an online voice, expect for Sophia, she can use all angles to get what she wants)

We have all experienced sudden loss. Loss of a mother, a father, and a brother. We don’t focus on this; we hold each other through it when needed.

From the left is Lesley, she is the mothering one out of all of us. Lesley makes sure we are all included even when I’m travelling. She organises the weekly catch-ups, the group holidays, she makes us all feel cared for. Her outlet is pole dancing. Lesley is a massive Naudic and Emma supporter.

Rhonda is next and she has been discovering what drives her for a few years, it’s been an amazing journey to watch. She is our gym “pocket rocket” and makes sure when we all go away, we don’t fall off the wagon, she pushes us and makes sure “we watch what we eat” Her outlet is the gym morning and night. We currently have an internal competition between the two us who can get the most followers this year. Its too funny making up stories around this.

Kerrie is one of my oldest friends, she is a divine, not matter what, she will always look out for me, not much is off limits here, we have so many stories together, hilarious stories. Too many to write about just now. We have an unspoken bond. Her outlet is her boutique and beauty business.

This weekend, we walked and talked, danced, ate and laughed so hard, we mucked around, we don't take life to seriously anymore, we only want to make sure we are all at our best and do what makes us the happiest. We have learnt that you must do it yourself, to make yourself happy.

We all run our own businesses and try our best to provide products and services that induce feelings of happiness and joy, we still have hopes and dreams that will be fulfilled because we are all silently wilful and determined in our own right. I couldn’t ask for anything more then to have these friendships with the lifetime of these memories.

More details from some funny and hysterical moments, I’ve had with each of them are on the way. It doesn’t take much, one glass of champagne and it all comes flooding back.

This is us and we are real, and still learning.

Emma