Friends Mom -

I spent last Saturday afternoon at my friend Mark’s parents’ house. Mark was running late (classic Mark), so I sat on the back porch with his mom, Diane. Fifteen years ago, I would have been awkwardly scrolling through my phone. This time, we talked.

If you’re reading this and your best friend’s mom is still around, text her. Ask her about Oregon. friends mom

It hit me that I had never asked her about her life. Not really. I spent last Saturday afternoon at my friend

There’s a unique kind of relationship that doesn’t get talked about enough: the one you have with your best friend’s mom. This time, we talked

Your own mom knows how to push your buttons because she installed them. But a friend’s mom offers advice without the baggage. When I told Diane I was thinking of quitting my stable job to freelance, she didn't panic like my mom did. She just said, "You’re smart enough to land on your feet. The safety net is ugly anyway."

When you’re young, you assume your friends' parents were always old. Now, when I look at Diane, I don't just see Mark’s mom. I see the girl from Oregon. I see the young wife. I see the exhausted mother of a toddler. It makes the gray hairs look less like aging and more like earned wisdom.