CIRCLE THE WAGONS:

This has become one of my favorite images, representing all the love and support on my journey.  In the early weeks, I would meet a friend for a quick walk (sneaking out away from the kids, they did not know about an impending divorce).  She would bring wine. I quickly learned: I could not drink wine and walk at the same time.  She held me in such a powerful witness.  She ingested the shock and disbelief.  She cried. She worried.  She kept asking how she could help.  

The school year was starting to brew.  The kids eagerly picked out supplies while I ventured over to the kitchen supply area. I had a kitchen to create, a place to be nourished and understood.  I was paralyzed staring at spatulas.  Why are there so many spatulas?

I left the store with no kitchen supplies but a variety of pencils, pens, folders and kids who had no clue Mom was in shock.
Sharing this story with my friend, she shouted “that’s it… that is how we will Circle the Wagons.” She organized a kitchen supply project.  Over 20 women assembled all the items I needed for a kitchen. It was hard for me to accept the help. Sharing the concept with my therapist, her eyes filled, “please, do not say no.”  I learned to lean like I had never leaned before, to trust how things would unfold.

The day after I moved in, those women arrived at my townhouse for a Happy Hour, filling the new walls with laughter and love.  I knew the journey had just begun. I had a lot of turmoil to face but I was held in the feminine magic of trust, dedication, never ending love.  I highly recommend you Circle the Wagons whenever you have an opportunity.