I’ve never been a big fan of women in general.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Let’s face it – women are usually pretty catty. I do understand that saying that may implicate me to be catty as well.

But if I am being honest, in the past I have found that if you get a room full of women together there is going to be catty gossip, vicious story telling and a general nonsense that just plain irks me.

I have been led to question, however, whether this is true of ALL women, or just of YOUNG women. As I have aged and matured I have discovered a pleasant surprise.

As women mature, marry, divorce, try for and start families, have kids and battle real life situations it seems to me that the cattiness recedes, the story telling evolves into camaraderie, and the nonsense, well it may not disappear in entirety but it certainly lessens..

I find myself suddenly believing what Hilary Clinton said years ago: “It takes a village to raise a child.”
I now count on the women in my life, my village, to help me raise my kids, maintain my family life and to keep me going on a daily basis.

I have a new appreciation for women. And I now have more women in my life than I ever imagined possible.

About five years ago, when I was the only pregnant woman I knew, I stumbled upon a website full of women. I cringed at first when I saw how many female hormones were in one place, but it was women who I needed most right then.
I needed women who would understand. I needed women to relate to. I needed women to aide me in dealing with the nausea and to calm my fears about childbirth. I needed to surround myself with women. Taking this little leap for me turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made. Five years later I still have that group of women from around the world that I consider to be close and dear friends. I’ve seen these women battle some pretty tough stuff and I’ve seen women, who have never met in person, rally to support each other like I have never seen before. These women restored my faith in female relationships.

As my daughter grew and our family grew, little by little, the women in my life became more and more vital to me. They are all part of who I am as a mother today. My village of course extends to the women outside the World Wide Web – the powerhouses I like to call dear friends. I now have no idea how I would survive without them all.

You know the kind of friends I’m talking about……:

The friend who will make you homemade chicken soup when your entire house is sick with the flu.
The friend that sends you a care package just when you need it most.
The friend who you call when you are in a complete panic over something with the kids or whatever, that will talk you down off the ledge and still be your friend no matter how crazy you sounded and best yet, she won’t judge.
I have women in my village that will look at every mundane picture of my kids and smile and compliment without ever rolling their eyes, even after the third email of pictures that same week.
I even have women in my life that will grab me and shake me when I need it most.

My village of women simply rocks.

As I grow with my kids I meet new women. While at first I thought that I would be resistant to new friendships and additions to my village, I continue to meet some pretty amazing ladies. I have come to find that I never want my village to stop growing. We have so much to learn from each other. It amazes me what I can learn from these women… Simple things, like making sandwiches that look like snowmen from cookie cutters, to pulling off the perfect play date with ease. I am in awe of women. I am proud of the women in my village who juggle full time jobs and are fantastic mothers. I am in awe of what we are all able to do and accomplish.

Yesterday, my daughter had a play date at a friend’s house. Now that she is old enough to go off and play without me I was able to sit and eat lunch and chat with some of my favorite moms.
We sipped champagne with strawberries on a Monday at 2PM with the kids running around as we took in adult conversation and friendship.

Who does that? My village does that!

Why are we sipping champagne on a Monday at 2PM? No reason other than the simple fact that we are Moms and we have earned the right to celebrate each other’s company whenever and wherever we choose.

I hope you all get the chance to enjoy the women in your life, to appreciate the village that surrounds you and to be open to the lessons they teach you and the path they lead you down.

Thank you to each member of my village for making every day interesting and worthwhile. Thanks for all you teach me and thanks for sticking around.

“A woman is like a tea bag, you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”

Nancy Reagan

Last 5 posts by MusingMom

• Keep Away, Grinch - December 22nd, 2008
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• Where's MY sticker? - February 22nd, 2009