It is incredible just how much stuff you accumulate in 28 years. Before we even put the house up for sale, I
was clearing out; being brutal I thought.
But now surrounded by boxes, clearly not brutal enough.
But before we totally
dismantled the house, I wanted to have one last party with my girlfriends and
this Tuesday we gathered together, reminiscing about parties of the past – like
my “I’m not 50 party” held the day
before my 50th birthday when some of my older friends served up
“advice from the crones.”
Ten years
later, I had a “I’m not 60” dinner party and then there’s the surprise party my
daughter held for me after my cancer treatments. There she had assorted photos posted to the
walls, which
appeared to have been selected based on the criteria that only bad
photos of me could apply.
Recently I was asked why I like spending time with girlfriends, and my
response was because we have a good laugh, and we all know that laughter is
good for you.
But actually it is more than that, we share the ups and downs in our lives with
each other, often nodding in agreement having experienced the same thing or
pitching in to help when needed. Men
would likely be shocked if they knew exactly what we do share with each other,
but the power of intimacy and the opportunity to just be yourself, is very
empowering.J
But on Tuesday, it was old and new friends coming together, some
meeting each other for the first time, others already connected to one another.
It struck me then that I am so lucky to have such bright, fun women in my
life.
Although I’d become friends with
them through different jobs, volunteer work or activities, and we covered a
wide age-span, the women just clicked and we had lively discussions from food,
travel, meditation, to the state of education in Canada and porn. You name it, we had opinions on it.
The sad thing is, we don’t do this often enough. We wait for a special occasion or in my case,
a move, to come together and that’s too bad, because it is those relationships
that carry you through the hard times, lightening the load and creating fun in
your life.
So cheers ladies. Let’s do this
again. Soon. Maybe when I’ve unpacked all the boxes at the
farm, we can celebrate my living full time in the country. I am sure between us we can come up with an
excuse to party.