Just friends

Last night I went out with my friend, my male friend. He's actually one of my best friends. Hubby always jokes that we're having an affair, because I suppose there's that age old saying that men and women can't be "just friends". It bugs me a bit.

The thing with male friends is that they give you something your female ones just can't. With women, well certainly my friends, there always seems to be some sort of judgement or comparison going on. I'm the only one of my girlfriends who has gone back to work full time and if I'm honest, I find it really hard to relate to that whole world now. All we end up talking about, no matter how hard you try, is what the children are doing, what milestones they've hit, who's more advanced that who, when you're having your next one....blah blah blah.

There's also a barrier with women who don't have children, they either disapprove that you work as well, or they think children are aliens. (just reminded myself of a look I got from the childless one last night when I mentioned breast feeding!)

What I get from my male friend is a sense of me. I can be myself without feeling like I'm being judged . He has a child too, but when we talk about them, there's no sense of competition. We can talk about work as equals. We work for the same company, so we understand what's going on in our "world" and can share our experiences.

That's the kind of friendship I like and I'm so lucky to have it.