Ah, toxic girlfriends. From Clueless to Mean Girls to Gossip Girl (is it Pretty Little Liars now?), do these only appear in the teenage years?

No.

These appear through to adulthood, from college/university to the workplace to motherhood to old age (who’s a better grandma?).

Granted, a lot of that nastiness starts in high school and I think some women just never learned their lesson.

I wish my mom was able to guide me during this time but friendships and relationships weren’t exactly dinner table topics.

So as a record for my daughter (and for anyone else who values good friendships), here are some of my own lessons.