Patricia Sands

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Are you a Suddenly Single Woman?

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Helen Wilkie is the vibrant and energizing founder of the new communityHelen red glasses Suddenly Single Woman.  

After 41 years as part of a happily married couple, she is learning to live as a happily single woman after being widowed a few years ago. Helen is quick to express, in her delightful Scottish accent:  “It hasn’t been easy. In fact sometimes it was so hard I just wanted to stay home and see nobody ever again.”

Well, she didn’t just stay home and she is encouraging other women who are suddenly on their own to follow her lead.

After a long and successful career as a writer, speaker and communication specialist, Helen gradually worked through the unexpected change in her life.  Finding her own footing, she was motivated to help other women find their way out of the dark place of a divorce aftermath or the death of a husband, or even the breakup of a long term relationship.

If you are asking yourself, “What happened to my life?” or “What am I going to do now?”,  you will find plenty of articles and information to help you move forward on the SSW website.

My readers know that embracing change during life’s later years is a theme I like to include in my novels. After being widowed myself many years ago at the age of 43, I’ve experienced the journey. Grief is not linear nor is there a specific timeframe. Everyone is affected differently and yet there are certain aspects shared by all going through the process.

The most important lesson I learned is that it’s never too late to begin something new. As the years roll by , I realize more clearly that getting older offers us more opportunities to do follow dreams. Helen is a woman who has embraced the change in her life and started on an entirely new path.

SSW_Logo2_225I’m excited to be one of the contributing writers for Suddenly Single Woman and have an article on their website today giving a shout out for the great friendships so many women share.

Even if you aren’t single, this website offers all sorts of great information and ideas, pop on over and explore it for yourself. See you there!

Suddenly Single Woman also has a  Facebook page where Helen is looking forward to welcoming you and anyone you can think of who might be looking for this kind of support and incentive to move forward with their life.

Have you found yourself suddenly in a situation that requires a change in the dynamics of your life? Share your story with us!

 

 

Girlfriendology – celebrating International Women’s Day!

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Continuing with my celebration of some extraordinarily ordinary women in honour of International Women’s Day on Thursday, March 8th, let me introduce you to a girlfriend extraordinaire – Debba Haupert!  As well as her impressive professional career, her bio describes her as a “wife, sister, daughter, neighbor, pet lover/owner, marathon walker, crafter, traveler, and girlfriend”. When she’s not flying around the country, Debba can be found in Cincinnati, Ohio.

You know I’m all about the meaningful friendships women share, like the girlfriends in my novel, The Bridge Club. As I like to say, whether you are 15, 35 or 85, girlfriends are girlfriends. When it’s real, some things never change!

I’ve never had a conversation or e-mail exchange with Debba that is not full of energy and optimism. Her mission is clear and one that offers something to each and every one of us. If you don’t already know Debba and her fabulous Girlfriendology website, it’s way past time you did … and then tell all of your girlfriends! Spread the sunshine!

Not only does this online community offer inspiration and motivation, an attitude of gratitude is what it’s all about.  I don’t think there’s a subject on which it doesn’t drop some fabuloso information and links: food, wine, shopping, travel, BOOKS, parenting, careers, relationships, decorating, fitness, health, family, finances, advice, education, awesome guest blogs … I could go on. If you want it. It’s there!

Now let me tell you this about her …

Where would we women be without our girlfriends? That’s a question that DEBBA HAUPERT doesn’t want to know! Since 2006, Debba has pursued her dream of bringing inspiration, appreciation and celebration of female friendship to women through her online community for women – GIRLFRIENDOLOGY.com.

Interviews with inspiring women, blogs filled with girlfriend advice and inspiration, girlfriend gifts and more can be found on this all positive, supportive, encouraging site. Through this online community as well as growing women’s communities on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, Debba inspires thousands of women every day to make time for the one relationship that makes women healthier, happier, less stressed, live longer and feel more beautiful. Debba believes that life really is better together with your girlfriends!

I asked Debba a few questions to give you, my dear readers, a look at the bigger picture of this über-fabulous woman and how she works to bring positive karma into all of our lives.

How did the idea develop for Girlfriendology and what was the impetus that got it started?

In 2005, two of my girlfriends were dealing with cancer. I had an overwhelming need to be with my female friends – not just the ones fighting cancer but all of them. I did some research to understand why I felt such a strong NEED to be with my girlfriends and I found the book, ‘The Tending Instinct’ (by Shelley E. Taylor). It shares research that confirms the benefits of female friendship: that girlfriends make women healthier, happier, less stressed and live longer. Girlfriendology was born from wanting to inspire women to be better friends and more supportive of other women.

What has been the most difficult aspect of building such a powerful voice for women?

That’s hard to say! It’s been six years of hard work and hard lessons. But its also been six years of amazing girlfriend stories, or women sharing their wisdom, of women being there for each other. That makes it all worthwhile and always gives us more to write about on Girlfriendology.

I will add that, due to social media and that women are so strong in social media, that managing the growing Facebook, Twitter and now Pinterest communities and communications is very time consuming. It’s great – I’m not complaining! We have wonderful supportive women in social media and they inspire us on a daily basis! But a large part of our efforts is keeping up with updates in social media (as well as monitoring our communities to remove guys!).
 
Girlfriendology obviously appeals to women of all ages and cultures around the globe. It’s been such fun to see it grow and be embraced so enthusiastically! What are some future plans for Girlfriendology community?

We have plans for making Girlfriendology even more helpful for women and for reaching our goals. We want to bring the power of females together to help each other in dreaming BIG. We have BIG dreams for Girlfriendology and the women in our community.

Our long-term goal still remains since we started Girlfriendology – to make the world a better place, one friendship at a time. And we’ll continue to work toward that every day!

“to make the world a better place, one friendship at a time” – I love that, Debba, and I believe that’s exactly what you are accomplishing. Thanks so much for being the girlfriend you are, the woman you are, and for all you bring to everyone who visits Girlfriendology!

Debba and I are going to continue this conversation on her blogtalk radio program at 1:30, this Friday, March 9th. Come and join us … we would love to chat with you too!

I know how busy we all get in this crazy world but don’t forget to remind your girlfriends they rock! Yup – no matter what age, girlfriends rock!

And always remember … I know, I know, here I go again … to have a good friend, you have to BE a good friend!