One Salty Kiss

Grateful For Girlfriends

Hawaii doesn't suck. #Aloha #beautifulday #picoftheday #instagood #oahu #turtlebay #nature #lifeisgood #liveauthentic #hawaii #grateful

As I sit in a window lined lobby of a Hawaiian hotel on the North Shore, overlooking the Pacific with my laptop open, I am overwhelmed.

Watching the billowy clouds push through the sky from the balmy Hawaiian wind, I am overcome with gratitude.

Every cell of my body recognizes the blessings in my life.

At this moment, I have little to complain about.

I am here on a girl’s trip. Five girlfriends, me, and the island of Oahu.

I am grateful for so much. For good health. For the love and health of my family. For the support of my parents and siblings. For the means to be able to even come on a trip like this. And for my girlfriends.

I am thankful for the girlfriend love in my life.

My girlfriends offer a love unlike any other. A love so deep and wide, it feels like family.

A love that offers care and compassion and says, “I get you.”

That says, “You’re beautiful.”

That says, “I will care for you.”

A love that is fun and childlike.

A love that makes you laugh until your guts hurt.

A love that wraps it’s arms around you for the hard stuff.

A love that is the foundation for a lifetime of amazing memories.

So, over the days ahead where giving thanks is on the lips of most, I give thanks with humble adoration to my girlfriends.

I am not sure how I got so blessed to have such amazing women in my life.

I am incredibly thankful.

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Karen Shatafian

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12 responses to “Grateful For Girlfriends”

  3. I’d imagine a girlfriend vacation in Hawaii makes it even easier to bask in that love! Your trip sounds wonderful, and your view sounds perfect. I look forward to more vacations like that in my life!
    The girlfriend love? I have it in my life…to a degree.
    In one way of looking at things, I have more than an abundance.
    In another way, I have a wound, where someone whose behavior for many years led me to believe that she would always be that kind of best friend for me, turned around and despised me, and discarded me.
    Only to move on, to seduce other women to be her “friends”. But then turn around and drop them, too.
    So my “true friend” wound, while mostly healed over, is still a bit tender.
    I truly am glad for you, that you have that friendship. But I can also tell you, from my less than perfect view here in NOT Hawaii, that there is no wound deeper than the wound inflicted by an untrue girlfriend.

    • Ah Susan! I totally understand and am sorry you were hurt so deeply by someone you trusted. I am finding the older I get the more picky I am about who I consider a true friend. It’s more about quality than quantity. And yes, the atmosphere in Hawaii definitely sweetened the experience! Thank you so much for reading and taking time to share such a personal story.

  4. Hi Karen, it is amazing when we seek and find the friends who truly get us. Hold your friends close and when the times get tough, and they will, you will appreciate even more that they are there for you.

  5. You are truly blessed, Karen. What a blessing to get to be in paradise with your loved ones and have the presence of mind to truly appreciate it and take it all in. I’m sure you’ll catch some waves while you’re there! 😉

    • Thank you Monica! I give thanks for the many blessings in my life and my girlfriends are definitely at the top! (And why yes, I did catch some waves!) Mahalo for the lovely comment!

  6. Enjoy Hawaii!

    I know the North Shore has been breaking like crazy lately so getting surf will not be an issue. Ever been to the Westside…Makaha? Something to see and a fun wave. If you go out during the week it will not be crowded.

    Catch one for the people stuck on the mainland!