Strange Connections: Reactions to Saturday Night Widows

I'm somewhat interested in how personal connections are made. Ed and I often remark to each other that these days, it's hard to make new friends. It's not like back in college when there were loads of displaced people all sharing an experience and possibly housing and meals as well!

When Connor was born, I met several women at the Breastfeeding Center of Greater Washington. A stranger connection I cannot imagine. Because of this strange connection, I think our group tends to have more random oddities than other groups. The political views are more diverse than many of my friend circles, and though we've certainly developed other ties (by necessity - you can't nurse a child forever - or at least none of us chose to!), there's still lots of learning about others that happens. Fundamentally, though, we tend to approach things in very different ways, which has its ups and downs.

I was curious to read Saturday Night Widows when it came up in the online book club I'm part of (From Left to Write), partly because these women all come together under fairly odd circumstances - they're all relatively young widows! And just like my mom friends, they are quite a diverse group, and this can cause some misunderstanding and awkwardness at times, but it can also prove to be great fun.

A few years ago, I joined DCMetroMoms - a now defunct blog written by many area writers. It eventually evolved into TheDCMoms. Slowly, I'm getting to know more of the writers, and every one of them is so generous in spirit. We gathered a few nights ago to celebrate the life of Susan Neibur, and I was once again in awe of many of these women, and so grateful to get to be part of the group. (They are almost all rock star, big-time bloggers. The last time we had a big party, I introduced myself saying I didn't know why they let me hang out with them, but I was happy they did.) And just like my mom's group, blogging seems an odd tie. And yet, in this case, tt works well!

I have no idea what chapters lie ahead for me, but if I can continue to be able to find a group of people to share it with, I'll consider myself lucky. And in case anyone is in the area - I'm always looking for a bridge group! I have visions of playing cards many weekends with that eventual group. If you have kids that we can throw in the basement with mine, even better!

Elaine

This post was inspired by Saturday Night Widows by Becky Aikman. After being kicked out of her widow support group for being too young, Becky creates her own support group with an unusual twist. Join From Left to Write on February 14 as we discuss Saturday Night Widows. As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes.