Womanfriends
After weeks of talking about men and dating sites, let’s talk about women.
Girlfriends, womanfriends, old friends, new friends. Who doesn’t need their friends right now?
I’ve been very fortunate. After moving to a new city in the middle of a pandemic, I have a new circle of womanfriends. We are a group of six. All but one of us is new to this city. Seemingly formed out of thin air, we met through a combination of coincidence and serendipity.
I have not been a part of a group of girlfriends since high school. Friendships in my previous city are with individuals, getting together is usually one on one over lunches or dinners. Socializing during my married years was usually with ‘couple friends’.
Being a group adds a special dimension to these friendships. We get together in various combinations. Like a kaleidoscope, we give it a turn and get a whole new mix of dyads, triads, or quads. The evenings spread out, getting later and later, until one of us looks at the time and breaks things up.
Different ideas for activities come from our different interests and personalities — hence the pic of us snow-tubing. Only one of us would have pushed for that activity, but there we all are. No regrets.
Our histories are varied. Marriages, divorces, nice husbands, bad husbands, bad wives, relationship mistakes, career mistakes, personal journeys, all up for sharing. Fears, expectations, shames, hurts, bravery, bucket lists, personal goals, it’s a free wheeling discussion. We listen to each others stories, we challenge negative perceptions, we reframe histories, suggest new possibilities, and encourage forgiveness of all those past foibles. What are friends for if not to solicit your best side?
There is no better way to impact the quality of your life than through the quality of the people you spend time with. What I like best is we give each other space to be. So supportive. So challenging. So welcome.
Next week? Manfriends.
Stay safe everyone.
Where would we be without friends?? I am blessed with this gift OF FRIENDS from the past, present and future I found this passage (just a small part shown here) from David Whyte which sums up friendship to me: ON FRIENDSHIP…… “the ultimate touchstone is witness, the privilege of having been seen by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another, to have walked with them and to have believed in them, and sometimes just to have accompanied them for however brief a span, on a journey impossible to accomplish alone”. DW
That is brilliant. Thank you so much for sharing.