Happy Valentine’s Day to my FOF sisters

I wanted to share two messages I received today, the first from Paula, who signed up for FOF, and the second from my dear friend, Denise.

“I am the first of my close girlfriends to turn fifty.  I’ve found that with women, it is so much easier to love each other unconditionally at this age.  After all life throws us with families, husbands, boyfriends, and kids, girlfriends are there for support and sheer childlike FUN.  I never laugh harder than when I’m with them.  Early in our friendships, I had just finished reading The Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya Sisterhood. Because of the parallels, we started calling ourselves the Yayas and it stuck. Being over fifty is the best time of life!  We are rejoicing in this time together. We checked our baggage at age forty and threw away the claim check. Why are we fabulous? Because we laugh and cry together, we love each other, we are THE YAYAS! “— Paula from Monterey, CA

This is the email from Denise. It’s long, but it’s worth reading:

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, ?drinking iced tea and visiting with her mother. As ??they talked about life, about marriage, about the ?responsibilities of life and the obligations of ??adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her ?glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance ?upon her daughter.??”Don’t forget your sisters,” she advised, swirling??the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. “They’ll??be more important as you get older. No matter how??much you love your husband, no matter how much you ??love the children you may have, you are still going??to need sisters. Remember to go places with them now ?and then. Do things with them. ?Remember that all women are your sisters: Your girlfriends, your daughters and your other ?women relatives, too. You’ll need other women. Women ?always do.”

What a funny piece of advice, the young woman thought. Haven’t I just gotten married? ??Haven’t I just joined the couple-world? I’m now a ??married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely ?my husband and the family we may start will be all I ?need to make my life worthwhile! ?But she listened to her mother. She kept contact ??with her sisters and made more women friends each ?year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, ??she gradually came to understand that her mom really ?knew what she was talking about. As time and nature ??work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, ?sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than fifty years of living in this world, ?here is what I’ve learned: ??THIS SAYS IT ALL: ????Time passes. ??Life happens. ?Distance separates. ?Children grow up. ??Jobs come and go. ??Love waxes and wanes. ??Men don’t do what they’re supposed to do. ??Hearts break. ?Parents die. ??Colleagues forget favors. ?Careers end. ?But sisters are there, no matter how much time and how ??many miles are ??between you. A girlfriend is never farther away ?than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you ?have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life ??will be on the valley’s rim, cheering you on, ?praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on ??your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the ?valley’s end. ?Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk ??beside you. Or come in and carry you out. ?Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, ??daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, mothers, grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended ??family, all bless our life! ???The world wouldn’t be the same without women, and?neither would I.

When we began this adventure called ?womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or ??sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we ??would need each other. ?Every day, we need each other still. Pass this on ??to all the women who help make your life meaningful. ?I just did. Short and very sweet: ?There are more than twenty angels in this world. ??Ten are peacefully sleeping on clouds. Nine are ?playing. And one is reading her email at this ??moment. Send this message to ten of your friends including ??me. If you get five replies, someone you love will surprise you. Happy days! ??Don’t break this. It’s working.

Denise and Paula represents the 51 million FOF women across the country.  We can’t wait till we’re all together on faboverfifty.com. We launch on Thursday night.