People say “family is everything”.

And it is.

But also, it isn’t.

Friends can be your everything too.

I want to share a little bit about my friends with you. Because they’re lovely.

I have one friend I’ve known since I was 15.

We text daily: “I’m alive.”

He knows if he doesn’t hear from me, he needs to come and get me from under the wardrobe I’m trapped beneath / out of the hole I’ve fallen in.

I know he would drop everything if I needed him to help me.

I have another friend I’ve known for 25 years who sends motivational messages.

Today’s, out of the blue, was:

“You’re doing great. 🌸💐✨ X”

I have a Monday night Zoom every week with a cousin and another gorgeous friend.

We chat about anything and everything for an hour while we eat or lie in bed, and I love every minute.

I have a close group of girlfriends. We regularly plan get-togethers in our WhatsApp group, alongside random messages cheering each other on.

This month’s get-together is a Hanami picnic under the cherry blossoms in a local park, because apparently my friends are gorgeous and a little bit whimsical.

I get regular video messages from my cousin in Canada.

In winter, she sends videos of snow walks with her dog. In summer, paddle boarding, because she is apparently determined to have better scenery than me all year round.

I have friends from overseas who I used to work with. We phone and talk about happy memories, and our lives now compared to how we were in our 20s when we worked and played together.

I love them all deeply.

I’m surrounded by brilliant friends.

I know how lucky that makes me.