May 16, 2007

• …life is a-buzz! Actually, I’m a bee…sort of. Five years ago, my sister-in-law and I were chatting about our mothers, wishing they had more opportunities for social interaction and stimulation. Living as we do in a truly rural area, we must MAKE our own fun! We can’t simply choose between which organizations, classes or groups we’d like to be a part. The choices just aren’t there. So we decided to create our own group. We asked our mothers and four other women (and the two of us) to get together once a month for fellowship AND for some kind of activity that would perhaps challenge (or, at the least, stimulate) us.

                                                                    

  (The Bees: sister-in-law Beth, mother-in-law Julia, Susan, mother Bonnie, Linda, Priscilla, Karen and Janet,on our outing to a Broadway musical…in Springfield, not New York.) 

  Thus, the Queen Bees were born. The name came from a book that we discussed at one of our gatherings….The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd. We’ve had varied, interesting sessions. We’ve had a woman teach us rug hooking. We’ve tried embroidery, knitting and making bread. We’ve shared our family histories, even delving into genealogy. We’ve scrapbooked (we’re making a BEES scrapbook, too), made aprons, hiked in the woods, learned to sing Christmas carols in GERMAN, (please don’t ask for a demonstration!) visited museums in nearby towns, looked at antiques, discussed books, talked about local history, gone to a musical…and eaten. We always eat. We take turns hosting; sometimes the hostess cooks, or we brown bag or bring a “dish to pass,” as our Northern-born Bee calls it (here in Ozark County, we call it potluck or covered dish.)

  Through these short five years, we’ve shared a lot of life experiences. Both our moms have become widows. We’ve become grandmothers, mothers-in-law, and aunts. We’ve taken meals to each other’s homes when the need was there, we’ve carried someone to the doctor, and we’ve sent cards and written notes of support. In short, we’ve done the things that friends do for each other. Our relationships have deepened in the process.

  Today we’re going to Linda’s house. Sadly, one Bee recently moved to another state, so our “hive” is smaller now. There will be an empty place without Priscilla today. But our assignment, for this post-Mother’s Day gathering, is to share about a woman who has meant something special to us….Mother, Grandmother, friend or whoever. When it comes my turn to speak, it will be simple for me to just say, “Look around at each other…you are the women who have made a difference in my life.”

   

   

   

  • 9:03 am
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