The Girlfriend Games of 2014

Let me tell ya ’bout my best friends.

Even though my phone is probably going to start blowing up immediately once this is published due to the photos included, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give you a little context before I tell you about my best friends.

They are pretty awesome. I know everyone thinks their best friends are awesome, hence the whole ‘best’ modifier on the word, but mine have the stats to prove it.

1) Time spent as friends. Our friendship dates back to first grade. I came into the mix just after 5th grade at a point which they obviously needed one more to round out the group. Every good pop group needs a 5th, right? Besides without me they would have no documentation of the history of our friendship in a public sphere such as this. It’s a blessing really (says the author.)

2) Shared interests. Sure we all liked the same sports, clothes and N’Sync songs over the years but only best friends can trade middle school boyfriends and still come out on top. Now that’s a strong friendship.

3) Frequency of cat fights and silent treatments. Getting these out of the way by junior year is best, leaving your college and adult years for smaller spats that end quickly. Everyone knows that isolation tactics and bullying strategies peak at age 15, especially with girls. Having survived these war zones together will make friendships throughout adulthood seem like a walk in the park.

4) Effort and Balance. Now that we’re all living in different cities, our frequency of seeing one another has scaled back considerably. Fortunately, we don’t let it inhibit the strength of our friendship. It may take more effort to maintain communication when new responsibilities come into play, but it’s just a matter of effort and balance. I’m very grateful for friends who are strong in both categories.

And I’m excited to see what the next generation has in store. If they’re anything like us they are in for a lot of laughs and love in the years to come.

This weekend, we got together for a girl’s weekend to celebrate just that, friendship. We spent Saturday relaxing at a local spa and Saturday night in friendly competition, per usual. I’m a little obsessed with the Olympics so I thought it might be fun to keep with the spirit with a competition of our own. And so the first annual Girlfriend Games came about.

What do the Girlfriend Games consist of? Trivia mostly. Interspersed with a few rounds of acting out the names of coaches and teachers and do-do-doing popular songs from the 90’s.

We separated into two teams of two. Each team had to come up with their team name and was given questions about members of the other team for points. At the end of each round was a bonus question worth two points, usually related to something we all experienced together.

The song round was perhaps the most challenging, requiring one team member to sing a song without using any lyrics. The other team member had to hold up the song title on their forehead until it was correctly guessed. The team who guessed their songs in the shortest amount of time won.

But in the end, aren’t we all winners? We looked back on years of friendship. We laughed. Some of us complained that the other’s team questions were easier. We argued over points and we had a blast.

I recommend incorporating an Olympic event into your next party, but I insist that you take a minute out of your day and tell you’re best friends how much you love and appreciate them.

Have a great week!