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There’s something special about spending time in the company of all women. I’m sure all-men gatherings are also unique, but obviously I have no personal experience of that.
Over the years, I have found that women gathered together are more open to sharing. We share the good, the bad, and the ugly. Complete strangers share their stories, and inevitably we end up laughing or crying, and frequently, both.
A while back I spent a week with a mixed group of people basket weaving in Spain. We had great craic chatting, and getting to know each other over lunch, dinner, and the baskets.
But it was only when three women and I went to dinner a few times on our own that we got to really know each other.
One woman told us about her very recent marriage breakup. We had spent a week together, and she hadn’t felt she could share this with a mixed group, but once it was all women, she shared, knowing we’d listen.
The feeling of solidarity when I enter a room full of women was brought home to me again recently at the Women & Agriculture conference. Many of the guest speakers, including Brendan Courtney, remarked on the positive feeling he got when entering the room with 600 plus women.
Sharing
I’ve always enjoyed the positivity at the conference and chatting to our readers. Many shared their own experiences around some of the things I’ve written about. I met one women who understood when I wrote about losing my independence after knee surgery.
Several women, also widowed, commented on when I included John (my late husband) in some columns, when they felt they should stop mentioning their deceased spouse after a certain length of time.
A few had me in stitches laughing with tales of their online dating escapades. Two lovely ladies even took the time to tell me they too remember their phone numbers from the days when we had to call the operator to place a call. Their numbers were either side of the one I remember as a child, Carbury 37. What a coincidence.
I met a fabulous lady who almost whispered that it was her first conference and she had no connection to the land. She told me a neighbour who she thinks has his eye on her, brings over the Irish Country Living to her every week.
I met a fabulous lady who almost whispered that it was her first conference and she had no connection to the land. She told me a neighbour who she thinks has his eye on her, brings over the Irish Country Living to her every week.
She has promised to keep me updated on the possible romance.
This feeling of support and safety among us was what saw me take to the stage and publicly discuss my underwear.
Yes, you read that right. I was on stage with the wonderful Bridget Kearney from Belle Femme Lingerie, discussing how many of us wear the wrong bra and wear it for far too long.
I wore a dress I bought for a wedding with my own bra underneath but Bridget had a much better option selected for me. I went off stage to change into the right size for me, and everybody, myself included, could clearly see the difference.
Would I have done that in front of a mixed audience? No. But in front of 600 women that I knew were all also wearing a bra? Yes. Because I knew it would be OK.
From the suffragettes to our own Irish Countrywomen’s Association (ICA), women coming together have changed the world for the better.
I sometimes think we forget that we make up 50.44% of the Irish population, and when we get together, we are, to quote Brendan Courtney, ‘a force to be reckoned with.’
Let’s all continue to support each other and be there when one of us needs to share, to laugh, to cry or even when one of us takes to the stage to discuss her underwear.
SHARING OPTIONS: