In the interests of giving back some of the kindness that's been dabbed over me like a warm flannel over the years, this second installment of my semi-regular feature where I spread the love evenly and thickly all over the best women in my life today looks at Sam and Jen..
Jen
Jen and I first met at high school aged around 15, where we bonded over an absolute maniac of a Cookery teacher. We were clubbed together for our Home Economics lessons and as well as vital skills for life such as operating a microwave and making Gazpacho soup, we learned a shared love of daft voices and making each other laugh (and most importantly a shared hatred of Maths).
Jen has been a constant source of inspiration for me over the years. We technically shouldn’t have worked as friends; Jen was cool and confident and I… was well neither of those things. She made me feel what I had to say was worth listening to, and that I was capable of more than just silence and nerves. Jen didn’t realise it, and I probably didn’t either at the time, but being around her made me appreciate its ok to be who I want to be. That I don’t need to put on a persona to be liked. That I’m good enough.
She has taught me to go for your goals and aim to achieve what you want out of life despite what is thrown at you in the process. She always made me feel like part of her lovely family. She’s a mum herself now, and again I feel nothing but love and admiration for her in all she has achieved; and from the minute she was born I was as equally besotted with her beautiful daughter.
Jen is still ‘my’ Jen from cookery class who gave me the church giggles in school mass, took 5hours to get her fringe just right before we went out as teenagers, and makes me laugh until my sides hurt. But now she is so much more, a wife, a mother and a woman who I’m incredibly lucky to call my friend.
This wee gem and I had a rocky start to our friendship. We were mere colleagues first, and thanks to the manipulation of office fishwives, we were led to believe the other was the child of Satan. Eventually however, after being thrown together, we realised that we were both actually quite nice people, and discovered a love of singing nonsense songs and laughing at anything and everything. Now Sam is like one of my limbs; irreplaceable, frecklier than I’d ideally like, and it would hurt me physically if she was taken away from me.
Sam is hilarious and so full of giggly fun it’s utterly infectious. She is loyal and caring, and continually offers me more support on a daily basis than my best bra. Like Jen, Sam is now a Mum herself and her gorgeous daughter is already becoming a wee bundle of fun and mischief just like her Mum.
When you crack her exterior, Sam shows so much love, and so openly that you can’t help but fall for her. She is a mirror on the best side of me and I love who we are reflected in one another. She is a wonderful friend, and now even more wonderful mother and I’m constantly proud of her in everything she does.
Also her knowledge of 90’s pop music makes me whole again.
