Have you ever heard of Tuvalu??

So many high school friendships used to be based on status points and mean girls ganging up on each other. Luckily, most of us transcended that garbage and found real friends in adulthood, you know– the ones we can share our actual dumpster fire lives with, without fear. For those who have not been so lucky, maybe make the first step and shift your judgemental mindset to one of acceptance and empathy. 

Finding friends on your wavelength makes the motherhood adventure so much easier. My MomedyCentral bestie, Ellen, came into my life at the perfect time. I was sitting in my cube, 5-ish months pregnant, minding my own business at my new job, and I heard this lady in the cube behind me telling my co-worker about her intense birthing story. I got up, baby belly leading the way, and said, “Um, I think we should be friends!” 

We’re an unlikely pair from the looks of it. Ellen’s tiny and I’m a giant, but we definitely clicked from the beginning. We quickly realized we had a lot in common like a love of proper grammar and logical UX design. She never makes me feel stupid when I question a grammar rule and ask her if I’m making the right edit in my work. I can’t tell you how comforting it is to have someone who doesn’t keep track of your myriad questions and kindly doles out assistance at all hours of the day. 

We had an amusing moment recently when I was seeking someone to relate to my geographical ignorance. My husband and I were watching a TV show that showed the interior of a UN meeting, with all the little country placards at each seat. I saw Germany, France, Ghana… Tuvalu. Wait. What?! Dafuq is Tuvalu?! Have YOU ever heard of Tuvalu? The show wouldn’t have just thrown a made-up country in the mix but this definitely sounded like some Wakanda-like creation to me. I had never heard of it. My husband hadn’t either. So I texted Ellen.

“Have you ever heard of Tuvalu??”

“The country?”

Doh, evidently my husband and I are the only people who have never heard of this tiny island nation. I was going for confirmation this place sounded made up. Nope. Someone paid attention in geography class! Luckily, Ellen didn’t make me feel stupid about my unawareness of Polynesia. To make things even better, I definitely forgot my little geography lesson a few days later.

Ok so this time she laughed, but it was definitely laughing WITH me! We kept it going when she was giving me ideas about companies to apply to on my job hunt. She suggested Tinuiti and I thought oh god, not this again! 

All I can say is get yourself a friend who laughs with you and not at you and you’ll be happy as a clam on the coast of Tuvalu!