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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Smoke blankets Rogue Valley as Stouts fire grows to 8,500 acres ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Missing Jon Stewart ... Ticket Availability ... Smoke blankets Rogue Valley as Stouts fire grows to 8,500 acres ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Missing Jon Stewart ... Ticket Availability ... COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTOR With a little help from my friends Can we just talk? Comment By Susanne Severeid DailyTidings.com By Susanne Severeid Posted Dec. 1, 2014 at 5:25 PM By Susanne Severeid Posted Dec. 1, 2014 at 5:25 PM » RELATED CONTENT • On the importance of kissing • Ringing in the new year • The haiku of a chance meeting • A full life emptied by grief, refilled by living • Counselor discusses Internet addiction • Dalai Lama's words to schoolchildren were memorable • Words to say for sorrow » Social News I had just moved to Ashland. It was a traumatic move that involved selling our home in another state at a financial loss after the housing crash of 2009 and putting our son into a new high school, in a new town, where we knew virtually no one. One morning, shortly after the U-Haul had been returned and the moving boxes unpacked, I was sitting in a local coffee shop reading the Tidings. Alone. A loud burst of laughter to my right caught my attention. I looked over. It had come from a large, round table with about seven women, aged 30 to 65-plus, sitting together, joking, laughing and chatting happily. Animatedly reaching over and touching a forearm here, giving a quick, warm embrace of hello there, as another joined the table with a breathless, ”Sorry I’m late, had to drop off the kids,” while tossing her jacket over the back of the chair they’d pulled out for her. All good friends. BFF’s, for sure. I looked down at the swirl of whipped cream in my mocha and felt a pang of jealousy. I wanted that. I yearned for that. I wanted a group of girlfriends to sit with once a week, once a month. To share the travails of life with. To help me navigate this turbulent ocean that seemed to have too many high waves recently. My Mom has one. A circle of friends. She lives in a retirement community and she tells me there’s this group of “girls,” as they call themselves —  even though most are now in their 80s. Mom tells me they meet every month and rotate living rooms for a couple of hours, and it’s set in stone. They’ve done it for some 30 years now and never miss a month. They talk about everything from when to collect Social Security benefits to whether or not to give their grandchildren expensive electronics for Christmas. They talk about their health problems, their husbands, and their fears for the future. And somehow, just in talking about these things with each other, it helps. I get that. It does. I watched this little group across the room from me for some time as I stirred my mocha, all of them so different, and yet so connected and supportive of one another, and I thought: I’m going to have that one day. I’m going to have a circle of girlfriends of all ages with their different dangling earrings and cool neck scarves, and their grey buns piled high on their head or long, dark braids going down their back, talking about their 3-year-olds or about their grandkids. I’m going to have that. I’ve lived in Ashland now for three years, and I do have such a circle of friends here that I awaken every morning grateful for. Yes, I have girlfriends, and we sit at tables at coffee shops or while having lunch or in our living rooms and we laugh and cry and tease each other. And yes, it is rich with the kind of cheer and support that so caught my attention while sipping my coffee alone that morning. I find that Ashland is like that, percolating with possibilities. With energy, friendship, hope. I moved here knowing virtually no one, and now? Now, my friends are the stuff dreams are made of. Author, speaker and performer Susanne Severeid lives in Ashland. For more, go to www.susannesevereid.com. By Susanne Severeid DailyTidings.com By Susanne Severeid Posted Dec. 1, 2014 at 5:25 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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