Not to exclude the gentleman but today’s topic is all about ‘hanging with the girls’. Earlier this week I was invited to join a Crafty Ladies gathering with a friend of mine who assured me that they were a great group of women and today was the day I was to meet them.

My daughter, along for the ride, gathered up her drawing stuff, I my clay and off we went to a neighboring town about 45 minutes away where we gathered at a stunning country home. It was actually something of a Norman Rockwell moment, when we first arrived, traveling along the gated drive – right down to a barking Golden Retriever running along a white picket fence.

Inside the house, however, was where the real beauty was. The song of women’s voices all coming together, a unique melody with laughter setting the tune –chatter rising and falling in rhythm to a little girl’s tears and a baby’s delighted squeal – that particular happy pitch that says “hey, listen to what I can do”!  I felt instantly at home wandering into a kitchen filled with women passing and preparing food.

Handing off our own donation of bagels and cream cheese my girl went to find the dog while I hugged my friend and met the other ladies. As the minutes ticked off we all shared a meal and began the rounds of stories and gossip that pervade any good gathering of friends.

The stories continued as plates were cleared, cigarettes smoked and projects pulled out. In a few hours the conversation floating around me moved from Burning Man stories to childhood memories of the men in our lives and how they behaved in the face of diapers, snakes, possible alien invasions and little girls. My own daughter sat beside me most of the time, speaking little and listening big; soaking up laughter and tales of bravery, fear and fun – doing exactly as I had hoped she would do: Listen and Learn.

Some of my own fondest memories from when I was her age are of sitting in the background around my mom and grandmother, as well as other visiting women, and hearing the stories of how they had their babies, made a dollar stretch or dealt with which ever crisis fit the topic at hand. As I sat today, interjecting my own pertinent tips and antidotes into the flow of conversation, I realized that it’s still one of my favorite things.

I further realized driving home today, kid dozing on and off beside me, that I really have been missing such gatherings lately; these convergences of multiple generations of women. The sewing-circles, the barn-raisings, the gatherings – it is in these moments that I think we emulate our ancestors the most. We may no longer gather around the fire pit to share our tales of joy and woe, but share them we do – no internet connection required.

It’s amazing with all of the technology at our finger tips – you’d almost think we didn’t need more. Anything we care to learn, Google can teach us if we know what to look up, but that is so untrue. When we gather as a tribe we learn so much more about humanity, about being women (or I suppose men, as I gather it’s all the same for them, albeit with MORE spitting-for-distance contests and flatulence jokes). When we gather with others of our sex… … we learn about where inner strength really comes from and all the little ins and outs of society that aren’t taught anywhere else.

I would strongly urge everyone out there, if you don’t have a multigenerational circle of *your gender here* try to find one or two. Looking to your hobbies is a good place to begin – find a class or a “group” of folks who share the same interests.  If you’re blessed enough to have a multigenerational circle of your own, keep an eye out for orphans and drag them along a few times… you will be sharing a priceless gift… like the one I received today.