Even though I live in a big city with my big family, often I feel lonely. With so much to do, I don’t have enough time or opportunities to meaningfully connect with people. I know am lucky to surround myself with (a lot of) little humans who adore me, but sometimes I just want a conversation with another adult woman who gets me.

Enter: my best friends from college. Our group of seven met in 1998 in a crumbling dorm on Notre Dame’s campus, and instantly we formed a bond that continues today. We may live on both coasts and everywhere in between, but the friendships remain stronger than ever.

Last month, I accomplished a (small) personal goal: I ran a mile in less than seven minutes (6:52, to be exact). I know that speed won’t get me to the Olympics, but for this 39-year-old mother of six, it felt like a huge accomplishment. Who did I tell right after it happened? My girls.

Recently, one of the girls gave us some frightening news about her health. Immediately, we all sprang into action. We are completely united in our care and concern for her. She is not alone. In our responses, I am witnessing absolute love in the most special way, and I am reminded that I, too, am not alone. No matter what, I will always have these friends to turn to. And they can count on me in their times of need, too.

These days, we all have kids and jobs, so our communication is mostly limited to our group text. But, I find so much joy in these messages and they are a wonderful alternative to Facebook and INstagram. In my experience, social media can be incredibly misleading (when I see images of a perfect life I don’t believe to be true) or incredibly hurtful (when I see images from events I wasn’t invited to). So, these incredibly real and honest and funny texts from women who’ve known me more than half of my life mean so much to me.

They are my best friends. Forever.