On a typical Friday at "The Cantina," you might find a gathering of the following women:  a part-time working Mom of two (me); a stay-at-home (although sometimes I think it’s “stay-in-van”) Mom of three; a full-time working Mom of one; a stay-at-home Mom who would much rather be working than battling breast cancer; a corporate attorney who has chosen not to have children; a single, full-time working Mom; and a just-back-to-work Mom of four.

Among us we pay for private school, are firm believers in public school, carpool and choose to home school. We go to chemo every three weeks, travel constantly for work, are pro-choice and are anti-abortion. We scrupulously recycle, defiantly toss our cans in with the other trash, put a balanced meal on the table every night and live off fast food consumed in the car.

We attend mass, we pray privately and we waver between Christianity and Judaism. Our Moms are our best friends, drive us crazy and keep us sane. We work out vigorously, take the occasional walks together, keep meaning to exercise and all seem to find some reason to complain about our bodies.

We see the world in black and white and we struggle with the shades of gray. We are fiercely protective of our kids, are oblivious to their faults, are proud of their accomplishments and occasionally forget to praise them for their strengths.

This week I was able to count on two of these women to pick up my sick kids from school when I was trying to get back to work after being sick myself. Three of us conspired to make sure someone was there so our friend with breast cancer would take her pain meds. I accidentally called one at 6 a.m. and interrupted a good dream … and she still loves me. Four of us sat around a fire variously celebrating and arguing about our differences. When I was sick, one offered to pick up groceries and bring me dinner. Several of them listened to me whine about everyone in the house being sick and my husband being out of town.

I know this is not my usual “slice-of-life” post ... but this week has made me appreciate my friends including their strengths and weaknesses and our commonalities and differences.

You may have heard me play this tune before … the title is, “We are all different. We are all the same.” Sometimes you feel like you are out there flapping in the breeze and no one can possibly understand what you are going through. Sometimes you feel that you are judged by the choices you have made and continue to make on a daily basis. Sometimes you feel like you are lumped into a stereotype because of your status as a woman, a wife and/or a Mom. If laughter is the best medicine, then maybe camaraderie is the best prevention. When in doubt, surround yourself with other women and chances are it will expand your horizons, challenge your beliefs and ultimately make you feel better about yourself and better about the world!

Di appears Wednesdays on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Di at her blog Live and Let Di.