Reaching Out – Making Friends Update

Starting a women meetup group for active ladies over 50, was my attempt to reach out in the city where I live and now -not even five months later- we are 112 members. What a fun group of women we are!

We had dinner meetings, have met for lunch and went to the movies. We decided to have a monthly ladies night out, where we just talk and connect -good food and good conversation, it doesn’t get better than that.

We booked a PAINT AND WINE adventure which I enjoyed -what a brilliant idea. A wine tasting combined with the attempt to paint a picture- the same picture. The art teacher was excellent and shared our sense of humor. The $40  fee covered the canvas, the brushes, the paint, as well as snacks and the wine tasting. There was so much laughter. Come to find out painting gets easier from glass to glass.

I wanted to make new friends, and I have succeeded. Many of the ladies live close to me, we exchanged numbers, we text and talk on the phone, we meet for lunch. I feel like a proud Mama. It’s not about me anymore, now I am the one behind the camera, trying to capture the moment. Needless to say, some pictures are blurry or headless, but overall I hope they display the fun we have.

The coming Saturday we will meet at a cafe. We will be forced to eat sinful cakes and deserts, while we plan a charity event for the Ronald McDonald House. 12-15 of us will provide food and cook a complete meal for 100 to 150 people. Having a child in the hospital is nerve-racking for the parents and the family. The Ronald McDonald House gives them a place to stay close to the children hospital without charge. The families get breakfast, lunch, and dinner and all of it is provided by volunteers like us. How fabulous is that?

Organizing the events and finding things to do is more time-consuming than I thought it would be. I “hired” a co-organizer, a computer nerd who makes me roll with laughter. She too is full of ideas.

We will be visiting art galleries and museums and plan to have a good time at a game night in my home. Our event planning goes already into summer. How can we pass up a “Jazz and Rib festival” or a murder mystery dinner?

Meeting new people is exciting. I never thought there were so many women out there just like me.

Life is good!