To my original squad

Many of us are blessed with squads, groups of people who you meet at certain times in your life that stay with you, or maybe you no longer see so much of them or at all, but they still leave their mark on you.  I'm lucky enough to still have an original squad, forged in primary school playgrounds, classrooms and parks.  My original squad has lost a soul here or there over the years, sometimes imperceptibly as they gently wandered off in different life directions for reasons long forgotten, but also sometimes chaotically, jarring like a gun shot, with the reasons for the break staying raw and with you for some or all time.

And what of my original squad still with me in the here and now?  We are four strong and female. We've become each other's virtual personal protection squad with 24 hour secure IT support provided by whatsapp.

In everything that has been thrown at us as individuals or together, I can see in them patience and fortitude, commitment and stamina, there is personal best and achievement, there is dedication and reliability, there is humour and compassion. There is also undoubtedly tiredness and a wee bit of exhaustion sometimes too, and a healthy dose of ranting and letting off steam, in a safe space.

One of my original squad has a new challenge to face, a challenge that means we are wrapped around her, in person and virtually..
courtesy of good old 24hr whatsapp chat. Along with her nearest and dearest squads, we are together as a team - her team -  to help her fight this challenge with humour and compassion. And with her irrepressible true grit, the challenge will be overcome, she will overcome it, and as a team, we are quite simply going to kick its ass.

I love my original squad very much. I'm writing this blip to let them know how much they mean to me and to each of us. You know who you are. Looking forward to many more years of building us up, you superfly mothersquadders.