The Power of Women

No, I am not a feminist.  Well...maybe a little.......
I just simply find there is great power in women and the relationships we have with one another.

This power can be felt in many ways throughout our lives......

The 8 year old girl who is in a class with 7 other girls.  3 of them are best pals and the other 4 have their little "posse" going.  That little girl feels the power in a very negative way.  She can be hurt by the exclusion and envious of the friendship she is left out of....and doesn't know how to change it.

The 16 year old young woman who is hurt by words of another girl.  Those words can cut so deep and no matter how strong that young woman acts like she is, she becomes that 8 year old girl once again.  Hopefully she also has found a few great friends by then who help to balance out the "mean girl"...but this time of life is always a roller coaster ride of power.

The 30 year old woman who has 2 small kids and longs for another adult human being to talk to and laugh with.  She finds a playgroup full of women who become a lifeline for her.  She starts to learn that the power of women can be a positive thing.   These gals in this photo below were the ones who were there with me for many of those crazy, blurry years of having younger kiddos.

The 44 year old gal who has learned over the years that choosing wisely is important in the whole friend thing.  Positive, encouraging, smart, compassionate, interesting women who can make you laugh and will cry as well are the true friendships.  That has real power.   This is a photo of my 2 best gal pals today.

The 85 year old woman who has coffee with her friends every Friday morning knows very well that the power of women is extraordinary.  They talk about thier kids, grandkids and great grandkids, pray for each other, and then one day they attend the funeral of the other.  They go through life with each other....all phases.  These are 2 photos of my Gram.  The first on her wedding day...and the second of her at about age 75 with some of the same women....and many more.  She is the one in front on the ground laying out and laughing.  I loved her.

For many women the coffee is their power for the day..... for me... grabbing a cup of coffee (or hot chocolate or a smoothie as I prefer!)  with these kinds of women is a very strong energy source.
Just an hour with several great women fuels me for a long time.

May you look at what kind of power the women surrounding you have for your life.

 May you discern if this is a draining or uplifting power.

May you tap into the positive power that it can provide.

GratiTUESday!

About 10 years ago I was in a funk.  I was not a happy gal.  I was faking it.  I had just had our 3rd child and he was a sweet, content little baby....thankfully....but I had lost me!  I was willing to do just about anything to find my "happy" again.  Someone suggested that I start keeping a gratitude journal.  Now, those who know me know that I dislike journaling....alot!  So, the thought of doing of journaling about things I was grateful for was not something I was ready to......be.......errr...........grateful for!!  But I was a bit desperate...so I decided to put aside my distaste for it and journal each day.

Each day I would "write" in a Word document 3 things I was grateful for that day.  Some days they were deep and thoughtful and other days it was more like "I am grateful that I got to take a shower."!  It made me focus on the good things in my life.  Sure, I focused still on the things that were frustrating, difficult or sad.  But.......what started to happen was transformative!!

With each passing week of focused gratitude I found myself seeing glimpses of my "happy".  I slowly and gratefully crawled and wrote my way out of that funk.

So, since then I have tried to remain positive and grateful.  It gets hard some days...and sometimes weeks would go by without me listing a few things that I was grateful for.  A few years ago I started "GratiTUESday" on my facebook page.  Every Tuesday I post 2-3 things that I am grateful for.   I find that it has helped me to keep my eye steadied on good things and be thankful for them.

 I am in the process of designing a new sign for our Etsy shop.  I will post photos when it is finished but until then here is the rough layout.....

The attitude of gratitude can be quite life changing.....and life SAVING.

May you recognize the little and big things for which you have to be grateful for.