Christmas party, cussing, and a plan....

Last Tuesday night our monthly book club met, for a wonderful Christmas celebration in Christine's home. Of all the holiday celebrations and activities scheduled this month, the promise of this one excited me most. We are seven women who came together to share an interest in reading, and found much, much more. We call each other "bookworms", "wormies" or "worms".... terms of endearment of course. We've become a sisterhood, a mingling of estrogen and brain pumping ions, as salty as a bunch of tattoo-covered sailors one moment and as ruthless as Murphy Brown in a room of cheer leaders the next. A quilting circle we are not. But perhaps we are more like quilters than you'd think... just a different kind of needling!

We "needle" with surgical precision, dissecting plot lines, analyzing characters, nothing is spared our scrutiny. And when we disagree (which is often) we only love each other more! We truly respect each other, and feel completely safe in saying anything at all when we are together.

I'm not quite as "wordly" as most in our group, never was one to speak out without being sensitive to the feelings of others. Each of us holds the spark of divine love inside us, and I consider that when asserting my own thoughts. But I'm learning that kindness, generousity and love have many faces. You'll not find a finer bunch than these women in my bookclub.

Among us are:

Christine, a divorced mother of grown children, an interior designer working at a mart showroom... she's bright, upbeat, spiritual and confident.

Kellie (above), a married mother of two little ones, working at Children's Memorial Hospital as a pediatric surgical nurse.... she's funny, smart, practical and blunt, a bit quiet, free thinker... a good mother.


Karen, former corporate woman, now a business owner of a bead store... she is intense, enthusiastic, passionate and bright.



Beth (left), divorced artist/rehabber/retail manager at a local home improvement store... she's free spirited, insightful, thoughtful, trusting, optimistic, quick to laugh.

Lauren (right), a specialist in new home sales in a new town house development... she's hard working, focused, obsessive, neat, direct, funny, impatient, intelligent and independent. ~~~~>



Kelly, a divorced mother to Kellie, and interior designer at a retail store... she's witty, brutally direct at times, particular, opinionated, politically minded, non-religious, shrewd, loyal, honest, hardnosed and endearing, a devoted grandmother and terrifed of spiders.


And this is me, enjoying the "worms" as we chatted around the table last night!

One thing it's taken me awhile to get used to ....is the fact that these are women who are very comfortable cussing... eff this, eff that... and it isn't at all unpleasant for me to be around! As a matter of fact, it seems refreshingly open and appropriate given the easy candor and ability to say anything and everything in each other's presence.

Here is something I just read... from next month's novel, "Saving Fish from Drowning".... I think it describes another viewpoint...

"Can we discuss this more rationally?" Vera said. My dear friend despised hearing people use sexual expletives for emphasis. Invoke religion instead, she'd say to those in her organization - use the "damn" and "God almighty" that show strength of conviction. Use the f-word for what it was intended, the deep down gutteral of sex. Don't bring it into arguments where hearts and heads should prevail."

The "f-word" has fans and foes. It's not a word I use. Perhaps one day it will be... who knows. I don't hate the f-word. I do think of it as a word with a literal sexual meaning, and as such, find it odd used in moments of road rage or a stubbed toe. It amuses me to hear it fly back and forth at my book club. It amuses me when someone flips me the bird as they mouth "f-you" and zoom past me on the highway. (I was only doing 80 after all.) Most swearing amuses me, rather than riles me.

(How I do ramble...)

And last but not least, our book club has a plan! In 2008 we will go on a cruise together! We will start saving now and make it a trip to remember. We have two years to plan it. It will be glorious!

I add it to my wish list, of dreams that WILL come to be....

*Dinosaur digging in Montana is on the list.

*Mooning Amtrak in California is on the list.

*And now.... a cruise with my book club is high on the list.

Life is sweet!