I love it when I’m reminded just how powerful a group of women can be…

My monthly neighborhood bunko group met this evening, at my house, and though we were two regular members short tonight, it was an absolute BLAST!

Oh, sure, there was food, alcohol, music and cold, hard cash.  But, more than that, there was friendship, laughter and camaraderie.  I look forward to the first Thursday night of every month for that right there.  

Since I was hosting, I was a little bit of a wreck all day today cleaning my house, grocery shopping, trying a few new appetizer recipes (one flopped BIG time, the other one was…hm… let’s just say it was “different”), and trying to keep Angelo from wreaking havoc in the rooms I’d just organized.  That part = not so much fun!  But I knew that in a matter of hours, I’d have a group of 9 wonderful women surrounding me, sharing their stories about work, their kids, their kids’ activities, school, and life in general.  Some of those stories would make me feel grateful for the relative peace and tranquility of my life, and others would make me yearn for a bit more excitement, even - a little - for having a work life to talk about again. 

One of the great things about seeing these women at bunko is that we rotate tables as we win or lose each round, so we each get to see and catch up with just about everyone as the evening goes on.  We had a new sub playing tonight in the place of one of our regular members, and it was so fun to have her there.  She was very vocal about her excitement to finally have been able to join us, and her additions to the various conversations brought a fresh perspective that we’ve lacked when it’s the 12 of us usual suspects.  It was nice.  

Is it the wine making me all sentimental for this group of great girls?  Maybe.  (I won’t lie - I had three glasses!  Who could blame me?  It’s this FABULOUS Classic Demi-Sec from Tabor Hills Winery in Michigan that my in-laws brought a case of for Dan and I the other weekend, and I swear, I just can’t resist! But - I digress…)  

No, I think more than the delicious wine, it’s being reminded - yet again - of how lucky I am to have such wonderful women in my life.  These women are my neighbors.  Neighbors who have become my friends.  I’ve had many girlfriends throughout my 34 years, but I’ve found that those I’ve made in the past few years are among the closest friends I’ve ever known.  I find myself appreciating them so much more now than I ever have before.  And although I adore and cherish my husband and my children to the ends of the earth, I treasure my girlfriends.  The power of 10 women in a room together is palpable, exciting, indomitable.  I love it.  

Here’s to women everywhere!!  

Now, go call up a few girlfriends, find a good bottle of wine (or two…), and remind yourself of how fortunate you are for having great women in your life.  Cheers!  ;)

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