The 7 girlfriends that we all have

Tonight I see them again, two girlfriends I've had with me for about twenty years. Our group chat is called ‘slipjes en Marte’, they call me Mobaca, Marte Kau is Karte Mau and the third woman in the story, Asjha, I usually call slipje. I really want to tell you how that came to be, but you have to pay me first. With a bottle of wine or something. We can go a while without seeing each other, but they are the women I wish for everyone, especially when you have a bit of headwind and it suddenly starts hailing hard. I think we can categorize our girlfriends into the following types. I hope at least you have them.

1. The loyal one

You have known her since childhood. Really, if you were to run into each other now, you probably wouldn't have become friends because you are so different. But there is no one who knows you as well as she does and vice versa. And she is the most loyal, faithful person you know. If you call her at a weird time, she will definitely pick up because she knows something is up.

2. The butterfly

You might not hear from her for months, it seems like she doesn't read your messages, but then suddenly she lands on your shoulder and stays with you for a while. Those are the moments when you suddenly spend evenings together in the app and completely merge into each other. Then suddenly she goes abroad again to dog-sit for some big shot and then you are on pause again. But the fact that she comes back and brings fun is a certainty.

3. The inspirer

She knows exactly where to go if you want to eat out nicely, has the perfect vacation spot that you need at that moment, nudges you when there is a sample sale of that amazing interior brand, and gives you a birthday gift every year that is even better than you expected.

4. The safety net

If you can hardly drive anymore because tears are blocking your vision, you call her. My ideal comfort friend is the aforementioned Asjha. We worked together and when everything went wrong and the copier got jammed right before I had to go to the studio (we made RTL Boulevard), she would dance out of tune for me or do and say other weird things until I could laugh again. Really, everyone deserves an Asjha in their life.

5. The philosopher

With her, you always have to put in a little effort. She likes to talk about books and documentaries and of course she eats consciously and doesn't wash above forty degrees. It's inspiring and she nourishes you, but you are glad you don't have to go on vacation with her for two weeks, because then your toes would get a bit tired, you'd have to walk that long.

6. The party animal

You definitely shouldn't meet up with her if you want to take it easy, because with her it's a party with a capital P. What tea, you start with champagne and end with limoncello. The conversation goes deep right away and you laugh so hard that moisture escapes from all sides. You can live off a meeting with her for months and that's a good thing because if you saw her every week, you'd be completely overwhelmed.

7. The daily recipe

She is a constant in your life. You call each other every day, send each other the ugliest FML photos, swap clothes, spontaneously drop by for a quick coffee, call each other before and right after very important meetings, know each other's phone login codes, send screenshots of your bank balances to each other, and if you happen to be at your favorite bakery, you immediately grab a few baguettes for her too. Your lives are intertwined and merged, and thank goodness your partners get along well too. If she ever emigrates, there are only two options: either you tie her down or you go with her.