Killing It In My Sixties

This quote was apparently, printed on a Starbuck’s coffee cup many, many years ago. I don’t generally look to my disposable beverage container for wisdom and insight – my main goal is to get that caffeine in me deliciously fast. But this quote comes back again and again, into my aging mind. We have a finite amount of time on this place we call Earth, and I intend to spend it supporting my fabulous female friends.

Any woman who is spending her days tearing down, disparaging, spreading untruths and generally disrespecting her sisters, (metaphorically speaking), deserves whatever fresh karma awaits on her final day. It’s so damn difficult to deal with our daily challenges; the best self we can be is the kindest gift we can share with own gender.

I am fortunate to have had many friendships throughout my life with so many amazing women. Some were short-term situations – you know – you meet on a cruise ship and spend every night together at dinner talking like you’ve known them your whole life. But they live in another state and you never see each other again.

Some were childhood friends that you spent years with, sharing pivotal life events but ultimately growing apart as you grew older. Some were adult friendships that provided exactly what you needed at that point in your life. Or sometimes – you were exactly what your female friend needed in her life at that moment. Sometimes – it’s both.

I’ve had friends who mothered me, when mothering was what I most needed, and I’ve had friends who taught me how to be a mom. I’ve spent a short, intense period of time with some friends – never to hear from them again. And many, who are Facebook friends that consistently send support and love virtually from many parts of the world.

The women that you meet through your work are a special breed – often more time is spent with them than your own family! I’ve been championed, supported and loved by women I worked with. I’ve attended their weddings, met their babies and grieved at their funerals. By contrast, I have been betrayed, lied to, trashed behind my back, and basically crapped on, by my own gender in the workplace. Both types made me into the person I am today. They taught me who I was, and more importantly – who I wanted, or didn’t want to be.

At times, I was not a good person to my female friends – I look back with regret and the knowledge that comes with pain and loss. I’ve been treated horribly by women I thought would never hurt me – that agony has also formed me – it’s taught me to love and support without jealousy or judgement. We’re all here for the same thing – to get through life with a degree of richness and love that compels us to make this place – a better world for our daughters, granddaughters and the women of tomorrow.

As a single woman in her sixties, I have come to appreciate my women friends as the most critical to my contentment, peace and happiness. I am fortunate to have many different groups of them; some young, some old, some the same age. The talks, laughter, hurts and successes that we share sustain me – and hopefully them too. I love that, at this age – there is little to no drama. I get that this precious time we have together ~ won’t last forever.

Looking back on my life – I used to think I couldn’t live without a man. Now I know my life would not be worth living without the WOMEN I’m thankful to call my friends.