The Sisterhood of the Happy Scrappers

Do you have sisters? Did you ever wish that you did and vow that your friends would be as close as any sister ever would? If not, is it by choice, chance or circumstance? For this Sisterhood edition of Lessons from the Scrapbook Page, I want to focus a moment on the friendships of women and how they can create a common bond of sisterhood that is a force to be reckoned with.

Let's start at the beginning with the definition...
sis·ter·hood  n.

1. The state or relationship of being a sister or sisters.
2. The quality of being sisterly.
3. A society, especially a religious society, of women.
4. Association or unification of women in a common cause.

We all need friends, but even more than that, we need sisters. Poet George Santayana wrote that “The loneliest woman in the world is a woman without a close woman friend.” Is that you?

Girlfriends are necessities, not luxuries. It’s easy to get bogged down with the busyness of life and forget what’s really important—people. A few lines from a simple poem by Maude V. Preston remind us that we all have something valuable to offer:

    There isn’t much that I can do,
    But I can share my hopes with you,
    And I can share my fears with you,
    And sometimes shed some tears with you,
    As on our way we go.

Our lives are meant to be shared. Whether with friends, family, or God, when we give of ourselves, we find our lives full and our hearts content. This is the answer to loneliness. If you're ready for some change, here are a few suggestions:

• Pursue a hobby or craft, like scrapbooking, that has built-in opportunities for community.
  • Other options: running, knitting, photography, painting, writing, reading, even being a mom.
• Join a group, either online or in person. Perhaps you could start online and graduate to in-person groups.
  • Online resources
    • Scrapbookers: Scrapbook.com, 2Peas in a Bucket, Creating Keepsakes
    • Writers: Writer...Interrupted, Writing.com, Today's Woman
    • Knitters: Knitting!, Knitting Forum
    • Photography: iPhoto.com, Women in Photography
    • Moms: Mommy Community, I Am the Mom, 5 Minutes for Mom

• Commit to at least one group or one meeting that you will attend and show up. Show up for the community members...and yourself.

As hard as it may be, reaching out to other women, wives, and moms will begin to strengthen your confidence and boost your self-esteem. Too often we expect ourselves to know all the answers or at least try to fake our way through. Life is much more enjoyable when we can allow ourselves to just be the woman we are (disorganized or perfectionist, gourmet chef or take-out queen, mother bear or anything but!). We are who we are and finding like-minded women to surround and support us is one powerful way to begin forming the bonds of sisterhood...at any age.

My challenge to you today is to make sure that you are connecting with your sisters. If you've already got the art of sisterhood perfected, try your hand at acknowledging and appreciating those sisters for the role that they play in your life. Here's to the Sisterhood of the Happy Scrappers (and women everywhere!)

technorati tags: Scrapbooking, Photography, Knitting, Writing, Moms

Comments

[Camy Tang]

This is such a great post! I've found so many wonderful sister-friends through my writing groups, both online and locally. I really don't know what I'd do without them to talk to and pray for me!

Camy