In the Company of Women

I usually make a point to celebrate my birthday. Not because I'm overly self-absorbed (though that may be true as well), but because as a single women I feel we have to create our own celebrations. I want to celebrate my life, honor the passage of time, and show how grateful I am for what I have.

So in honor of my upcoming birthday, I decided I wanted to spend an afternoon with some of the women that are nearest and dearest to my heart. No, it wasn't "throwing myself a party" as my mother sarcastically referred to it...it was a chance to bring my friends together and do something I enjoy doing...bonding!

The ladies luncheon was Sunday afternoon, and I did it potluck style, since I was just returning from a business trip. Wait, that's just an excuse- I wouldn't have cooked anyway- I couldn't inflict my cooking on my friends! So I simply asked them to bring appetizers or desserts or a bottle of their favorite beverage. As such hodge-podge lunches go, the feast we created was pretty fabulous.

But that wasn't the best part. The best part was the gathering of 9 women. And even though I had put out extra seating so people could spread out throughout the first floor of my home, everyone squeezed into the small seating area right off the kitchen.

We ended up sitting in a pretty tight circle.

Do you have any idea of the power of circles? Especially a circle of women?

I looked around the room at these amazing women:

*A friend who is in recovery from a debilitating disease, recently being able to walk again.

*A friend who has had an amazing 36 year marriage, but is currently going through a heartbreak with a friend.

*A friend who, as a single woman, is ecstatic to be on the waiting list to adopt two siblings.

*A friend whose daughter is planning a wedding.

*A friend who is in love with a man who lives in another country.

*A friend who, like me, is trying to figure out the best way to find love.

*Two friends who got married a bit later in life to fantastic men; one of the women recently had a baby.

Women from different walks of life, whom I met in a variety of ways. Many of them were meeting for the first time, or haven't seen each other since the last time I brought them together. But that didn't matter.

Lots of things can happen when you bring a group of women together. Certainly bad things sometimes happen: cattiness, competitiveness, etc. But when it comes from a good place, it is truly magical.

Powerful.

You could feel the energy in the air. The emotion. The connection. The bonding. At one point I had to laugh because I think there were six different conversations going on around and across the circle, at full volume.

At our core, women are the same. And it is that sameness that we connect with. We truly have an infinite ability for love, support, empathy...

I am thankful for my girlfriends. They rock.