GOSSIP FROM THE GIRLFRIEND GATHERINGS

Learning from YOU to empower ME !

Me, Myself, and I – Discovering ME Time

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I wish I could say that I was savvy and cool from birth and it was inherent within me to know and understand the value of ME time.   But the reality is I was the same as all other women “who do too much” – – – always putting myself last.   This was what I saw all the familial women do in my life and it was just natural to continue on with the same behavior.

My “skirt was pulled” in an unexpected manner and at a low period in my life journey.  I had lost my father in a car accident and my teenager was rebelling, so we started family counseling.  In one of the sessions, the therapist asked me to list the things I did each week.   So, I told her.   She then asked me to repeat it.  I repeated it.   Then she leaned forward from her chair and looked me straight in my eyes and said “Mother, get a life”.   She told me nothing on my list was anything that I did for myself.  It was all about my son or others.   She then asked me about my personal relationship and I told her about the man I had been dating for umpteen years.  She told me to get rid of him.

I was mad.   No, really, I was infuriated.   How dare she talk to me like that?   I called my best girlfriend and started the conversation with “Can you believe……”  But, a few nights later, in that midnight hour when you can’t lie to yourself, I faced the truth – I had absolutely no life.    I got out of bed that next morning, looked in the mirror and I had a moment like the evil Queen in Snow White.   I looked myself in the eyes and I asked “Mirror, mirror on the wall – Who am I?”   The mirror had no answer for me.

This was the beginning of my looking within myself and experiencing ME time.   On that day, I sat down and made a list of all of the things I loved and dreamed about before the realities of life grabbed me.  I started with one item on that list and it was a catalyst for all of the adventures that have enhanced my life journey to this point.    I have evolved into many women since the day I spoke to my mirror and each one has pushed me to become the next one in the evolution.   And, yes, one of them DID end that “nowhere” relationship.

Of course, my best girlfriend wasn’t going to let me start that list alone.   She joined me in attending theatrical events in our area.   Soon, other girlfriends joined us and we added a monthly Sunday Brunch to the mix.    We have also traveled together over the years and had some wonderful adventures.  This was the birth of our “girlfriend gatherings”.  Over the years, all of the girlfriends have learned the value of ME time.    

Just in case you have not determined my definition of the acronym ME – it is My Evolution.

 

Questions:

Do you spend any ME time with yourself?

If so, in what manner?  

What importance do you give it in your life?

How have you evolved?

The Mystery of Girlfriend Gatherings

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Put on your “glad rags”, paint a little color on your face, click your heels, grab your favorite handbag, announce that you are off to a “girlfriend gathering” and you have just turned into a mysterious being – an enigma – to your better half, your children and other family members.

I believe since the beginning of time; everyone has wondered what do women “DO” and “DISCUSS” when they get together. I imagine that even when prehistoric men ran off to their hunts, they sat around the campfire and wondered what the women were doing back in the cave without them.

Women have come a long way since those times and the ways we “gather, ” and our discussions have evolved, too. Girlfriend gatherings today are no longer disguised as they were in yesteryear. Before, they were camouflaged by some household or family event, where the women would sneak away together to another room (usually the kitchen) to commune together. Now, we boldly declare our intentions and carve out this time for ourselves with deliberation because we know we deserve it.

I applaud all women who devote time to doing some “girlfriend gathering”. I’ve created this blog to celebrate this activity and to answer that age old question that is pondered by outsiders. Hopefully, they will find their way to this blog.

Please help me out by sharing your comments on the question(s) I will ask near the end of each blog post. Also, please pass this blog address to every woman you know. I hope for participation from ALL women, regardless of race, creed, color, country, religion and culture. Let us learn from one another and have a worldwide online “girlfriend gathering”.

Questions:

1.      In what ways do you gather with your girlfriends?

2.    In your early years, while growing up, how did the women in your family gather?  Please share with us some memories and your observations/feelings about those gatherings.