The Relationship Blister

Okay so I have come to the conclusion that female relationships, whether they are between sisters, girlfriends, moms and daughters or co-workers, are like blisters. Think about it. A blister is caused by friction between two elements rubbing together; usually it is something like the heel of your foot and the back of your shoe rubbing against each other or, your hand and a shovel. Once the blister is formed a protective fluid builds over the tender area and the skin expands, it bubbles up and if you are patient it dries up and the skin underneath is just like new. If you are not patient and you burst it, the area becomes even more tender then hard and brittle and always keeps a little callous over the area....

So how does this compare to female relationships? You have your friendship or relationship and you have words,probably meaningless to most other folks, but enough to create "friction" in your relationship. The next thing you know you are both filling up with emotion. Now this is where it gets tricky. What do you do? Do you exercise patience and give yourselves an opportunity to heal. Like the blister you let the relationship heal while it remains protected under the emotion bubble. In the relationship this equates to letting the dust settle and the emotions becoming a little less raw before having another conversation or, broaching the subject again. The tenderness however reminds you of the relationship and how fragile sometimes relationships can be. Hopefully it is also enough to keep you mindful that the relationship is there and you want to preserve it. When you don't exercise patience and force a conversation that perhaps the other party isn't yet ready for it is like bursting the blister. The sensitive topic is pricked before parties are ready for discussion the emotion is drained out but not necessarily in a positive way and, as a result, the relationship is left with a bit of a scar and perhaps a bit of a callous. Leaving it changed and maybe even for a period of time a bit uncomfortable.

So, as with blisters female relationships sometimes need protective measures. Runners use something called Easy Glide you rub it on the sensitive areas of the foot before putting on your socks and it eases the friction as you run. In your relationship Easy Glide can be synonymous with tact. We sometimes take our longstanding relationships for granted and figure we can say anything and our friend, sister, mom or daughter will "get over it" after all you are just being direct. But don't underestimate the power of tact or putting on a little easy glide every now and then. Just because they are your best friend, mom or sister doesn't mean that their feelings don't sometimes get hurt.

All relationships take work, female relationships take lots of work. So don't forget to use your easy glide from time to time.