The Company of Women

My studio is located in a pottery studio, with pottery classes ongoing through out the week.

I've taken two classes now, and I am beginning to develop wonderful friendships with the instructors and students.

I can't emphasize enough how nourishing it is to be around a bunch of creative women that are mostly retired and a little younger than my mother would be had she lived.

I didn't realize how much I've missed the company of older women over the last 10 years, but especially the last four since my mom passed in 2021.

When we moved to Roanoke, I was busy with my father and spent a lot of time with him, due to health issues he was facing. He needed a lot of my attention.

I wasn't able to make good connections with many women, and I've really missed it.

Some of the women I'm around now have recently become widowed. It's been an education for me to understand how drastically their lives have changed since losing their husbands.

One woman had to leave the farm she lived on for the last 11 years. Another is still in so much grief that she relates every conversation back to her husband.

One thing that sticks with me is how accommodating and generous the women in this group are to each other, especially those that have suffered such immense loss.

They all have had hard experiences and know that the way through is often connecting your mind, heart and hands to a task that anchors you into the present moment.

That's where you begin to get your sea legs, so that you can weather any storm that you inevitably must face if you make it to old age.

Random fact about me: I love to fish. Bank or boat...makes no difference. A day spent with a line in the water is my idea of heaven.