I remember a time when my first son was an infant, when I believed all the people I needed in this world were my family…the little family under my roof and my extended family that supported us. I was so consumed by new motherhood that I barely had time for nights out with the girls.
Then as my boys grew, I was busy with baseball games, tae kwon do and music lessons…again with no time for myself. But, it was during this busy time that something magical was happening. Somewhere in all of the days on cold bleachers, volunteering in snack shacks, and sitting in stinky gyms I was developing my closest friends, my deepest allies, and my survival support system. I was developing a tribe of beautiful, amazing and loving women. Women I needed.
In the beginning, we need our friends for venting, helping with rides, listening to our worries, sharing our concerns. But after you have truly lived with these women, things evolve and life is lived…the good, the bad, and the ugly.
This past week I facilitated one of my Girls’ Night In parties for one of my own friends. The guests were made up of women I knew as well as women I had never met. We took a journey of exploring our self-care needs together and came out the other side with new wisdom on female friendships. We need each other…NOW even more than ever.
As my friends and I pass through our mid-forties we are faced with some of the biggest challenges in our life: the security of our marriage, the well-being and choices of our children, the satisfaction from our careers and - most poignant - our mortality as we support our besties through the biggest struggle of their lives – CANCER. These are common themes that we are facing on a daily basis and we cannot do it alone.
You know this, right? None of this is meant to be done alone. If you haven’t spent some time with your girlfriends recently, I implore you to reach out and make it happen. Time with your girls will empower and rejuvenate you more than most of the activities you are probably currently using for stress relief.
If you are looking for some ideas on how to host an amazing evening with some of your soul sisters, please check out this link on how to host a “Girls’ Night In” Home Party. You can be the one who reminds your friends of how important they are to each other!