[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiQzUEc_FmI]

“And when we both get older
With walking canes and hair of gray
Have no fear, even though it’s hardly here
I will stand real close and say,
Thank you for being a friend”
~Gold Andrew: Thank You For Being A Friend~

By the time you guys probably read this, I will be happily engrossed in Ladies’ Night w/ one of my crews that I hang out with. I have always been the type of person that enjoys having several different cliques. When I’m in a new environment, I hate to be the person that clings to one group. Or the person that only befriends the friends of the one person that I may know in a particular setting. Eagles have wings and therefore I love to fly.

Whenever I say that I’m hanging with “my girls”, I always have to clarify which girls that I’m referring to – which makes me smile. I chuckle to myself sometimes because my sistercircles can be so polar opposite in personality, it’s funny. I think that I’ll save all of the reasons that I love them all for a later post, but as I’m preparing myself for tonight’s festivities I thought that I’d share some of the fun things that my sistergroups and I like to do.

Relax Relate Release (Spirit Rejuvenation with ‘spirits’)

Regardless of the ethnic or professional background of the women I befriend, we are all non-stop go getters. We all have multiple degrees, excel in leadership positions in our professional field and most juggle families as well. Sometimes, we just have to STOP and BREATHE. Every now and then, that can be solved w/ several bottles of wine, someone’s living room floor and pillows.

Visioning

Other times the Trapper Keeper Girls (über organized) in us like to create structured activities like this one. My sisterfriend Phoenix and I got our friends together as a part of our Kwanzaa celebration, bought cheap rolls of corkboard, gathered up old magazines, glue and push-pins and had a group of about 6 of us cut out empowerment statements/pics. Then we created mini vision boards. Everything on the board had to be about OURSELVES, not our jobs, relationships or children. It was a time to refocus on who we are in our core before everything else in the world defines us. Afterwards, we discussed the things we chose. It really helped us to get to know each other better. It also helped us to know the things that our friends want to work on or would like to become inside so that we could continue to be each other’s cheerleaders.

Cooking

Most of my friends and I love to cook. So we carve out time to take cooking classes together. We enjoy The Viking (they even have reserved Ladies’ Night events) or prepare our meals side-by-side at The Dinner A’Fare. We even love gathering together at someone’s house making something from scratch. My favorite (shout out to tonight’s fun times as I rest up before heading out!) is CAST IRON SKILLET PIZZA!! And yes, every Southern Gul has a cast iron skillet – so it’s BYOS (bring your own skillet lol). <~ mine is in my truck

Thank You For Being A Friend

When you have a group of women that have known each other for ages, we always instinctively lean on each other and hang tough. Our love for one another is understood – but it’s always nice to be reminded of the reasons that our bond is so strong. All this takes is writing a heartfelt thank-you card for each member of the group, shuffling them up and handing them out. You can either choose to read them aloud (which leads to tears…especially when Shiraz is involved lol) or wait until you get home. I have my most recent thank-you cards posted on my vision wall. On days when I think to myself that no one has shown me enough attention (shut up…I’m an only child!), I look at those and know that my sisters are always watching out for me, cheering on the sidelines (running beside me or carrying me on their shoulders) and are most of all, happy that I’m in their lives.

Do you all have any special things that you do w/ your friends? If so, feel free to share!