As long time friends gathered last night, we found solace in each other’s company and conversation since mourning another friend’s loss of her son. There was a brief opening of hearts as we expressed our sadness for this mother and father and the tragedy that they were facing. There was not much to say. But the comfort of a group of friends, brought together by a spur of the moment gesture by our host’s invite, created an environment of safety and support.
I haven’t spent much time with these women for what seems like an eternity. They are friends met years ago when my children attended elementary school. Hours of volunteering together, months of “book club” (with no expectation to read the book), and many coffee dates evolved into friendships, steadfast and solid.
Hard times, great times and all those times in between brought us back together in a living room sharing compassion, joy, more wine and food. The laughter and intriguing conversation, and unforgotten bonds brought back memories of a happy time that I thought had wained.
Last night changed my thought to the paradigm that friendships are never ending; it is we who need to make the call, the invite, the gathering of friends over and over again so that we grow and evolve together for years to come.
Thank you to Angela who sent the invitation, made the tapas, and poured the wine thus, giving us the gift of the “gathering of the gals”. xoxo
Dear Diana,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your sorrow, your grief, your tears, your joy, your exciting future, and most importantly your beautiful eloquence of words. We are so very fortunate to have such a lovely group of women who enjoy one another, for who we each are as individuals. Some of our friendships are longer or deeper than others, some are deeply rooted and some newly planted, but what matters is that we can be there for one another, for no other reason than to just "be" together. The friendships we have made have seen us through many different situations...you might say: the good, the bad, and the ugly! However, these friendships are truly the most special of all gifts. Thanks to Ang for once again offering her beautiful comfortable home to allow us just to "be" together in our thoughts and our conversations. For someone who is a notoriously bad sleeper; I actually had a very peaceful sleep last night...and I don't think it was just the wine!
Always,
Deanna xo
Dear Friends,
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome and thank you! I love the phrase,"gathering of gals". That is exactly what it was and much deserving at that.
I marveled at how everyone could make it on such short notice! Many of us have very busy lives with our families but for this one evening, we were all finally at the top of our families' list. It was as if everyone realized how important it was to make it that evening even though many of us have not seen each other in quite sometime. Some of us spoke and others sat back and listened but all of us left feeling lighter, rejuvenated and thankful.
To all my inspiring and wonderful friends, thank you for making me a better wife, mom, friend and woman. Happy Mother's Day.
Angela