Spread out around the world, my dearest friends over the years couldn’t be more dissimilar if they tried. But for all their differences, they seem to share a similar strength (one of the many reasons I respect them so much): they hustle, they work damn hard and they take responsibility for their own well-being. They value earning over feeling owed (can you ever really feel grateful if you feel owed?) They have their crap days, weeks, even months like everyone else, but there’s no whining and in the end – they just suck it up and get on with it. And I think that’s what leaves a lot more space for happiness.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately, what with economic crisis highs and lows, and all of us being affected in one way or another. I love the way so many people have made the best out of tighter budgets – by taking inventory and quickly concluding that they already have everything they’ve ever needed. Job loss has meant hustle, finding new approaches, new solutions, and above all – doing everything it takes right now to get by, whether that means working longer hours, taking a job they’re over qualified for or seeing their current situation as an opportunity to plunge into further education – anything, but look for handouts. Crisis or not, it’s inspiring to see people running on their own steam.

Maybe that’s where the wicked sense of humour comes in (ok so maybe there are a few things these dear friends have in common) – a good laugh to keep the molehill from turning into a mountain – or is it the other way round, turning the mountain into a molehill and getting a little perspective. Ladies, you know who you are. We might not be in touch on a daily basis – but I love that we can, time and again, pick up right where we left off, whether it was a week ago or 2 years since we last met. And while I love how technology makes our world a little smaller – oh what I wouldn’t give at times for some fewer kilometers in between.

Ps. love the card Lolo.