Here’s to the Ladies who lunch…

 

When I moved back to Louisville, it was Covid time and outside the house activities were non-existent for me. I had looked forward to being back and connecting with friends, but it couldn’t happen for a while.

Once things started to return to normal, I felt the need for a regularly scheduled activity with friends. What did I do? I planned something! I decided to start a Facebook group called the Twisted Brunch Bunch and I proceeded to invite friends to join.

We scheduled the first brunch for this past January. I made reservations for those who replied to my invite. The gathering was shaping up to be a fun day. Then, without warning, Mom, Dad and I got Covid. All of us vaccinated, all of us taking the precautions, even though the guidelines were lifted, we got sick. None of us was nearly as sick as we could have been, but this meant that I could not go to the first brunch.

Of course, I have great friends so one of these lovely ladies stepped up to host the brunch and “take notes” for me so I would have a full accounting of the day.

We have had 4-5 brunches since that time, trying to find places that are new to us. It’s been great! Most of the time we have 8-10 women who have found common ground and it’s been so much fun. All of them have me in common, but you would never know as everyone mixes and chats with everyone. I love it! Our next one is coming up on Sunday this week and I’m looking forward to connecting again!

On Facebook, I’ve gotten into a group called The Ethel Circle. This is a group of women, 50 and over, who share common problems/concerns of women our age. Some problems are beauty related, like how to tame the relentless chin hairs! Some are marriage problems, like talking about a spouse the doesn’t like to travel, but the woman does. Some are lifestyle problems, like a nosey neighbor or downsizing from the family home.

As you can imagine, there are always lots of comments/suggestions from a variety of women. Sometimes the comments get personal with another commenter and sometimes, it gets a little catty. But most of the time, people are kind and offering suggestions that can be helpful.

After being on the site for a while, I started to notice that there were groups of people getting together in their areas of the country. I started to think that it might be fun to gather gals from the Louisville area too.

So, I started a Facebook page called The Kentuckiana Ethels. I posted on the main page and asked people from my area to join my page. Soon, the group grew to 20, then 37, and as of today, there are 54. We have had four brunches with one scheduled for early August. I have found this group of women to be delightful and open to new friendships. If I had more time, I feel like I’d be socializing with several of these women.

I share this information with you today because sometimes, you just need to make your own fun. I’ve often said, “I’m too old to make new friends” and I’ve really meant it. But I am taking that back now, as I have a different group of friends and we plan to expand from food to more social activities.

The Kentuckiana Ethels are not competing with the Twisted Brunch Bunch at all. In fact, there are some who are crossover members and enjoying brunch twice a month.

My days are still full and I have my responsibilities, but I do love being with strong, kind, women with good conversation, so why not have two groups?

I welcome anyone who wants to join either of these groups to let me know!! At my table, there’s always room for one more!!  Just three little rules…over 21, fun and female!!! XOXOXOX