Lift each other up

As I was thinking about the post, "Surround Yourself With Supporters," I couldn't help remembering it's more than making sure you surround yourself with those who care about you and support you. It's about being that person to others.

That's been one of my primary goals for this blog: to create a place for women to support each other. Because we're all perfectionists. We're all doing too much, taking on one thing too many, and picturing everyone else doing it so much better.

So I'm going to make an effort to remember the special women in my life every day.

These are the women in my family, who share their love and concern about my marriage and my family; the women in my book club, who are friends, colleagues, and fellow readers; the women in my writer's group, who are writers, wives, and mothers; and the mothers of my children's friends, who work to be teachers and supporters every day.

Today, my goal is to be the woman others want in their lives.

Seize the moment

Laughter, little secrets, a renewed connection - these are just some of the benefits of making time with friends. Last night, I met up with four other women for cocktails. Our cocktail hour ran a little long; five hours later, I was pulling into the driveway. But you know something, that's the way it should be: Losing track of time may be just as important as always being prompt. It means you're having fun, you're connecting.

Girl time is more than just having fun. When we talk and interact with others, we're happier and less stressed. There's even research documenting our girl-friend phenomenon. Yeah, there's always something else we probably should be doing: Kids, husbands, house cleaning, that one last assignment and even laundry take precedence over fun. But it's shared moments like last night - with the fruity drinks and the hours of laughter - I'm going to remember a lot longer than whether my floors were mopped.

Regina Brett of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio once wrote a column titled 45 Lessons Life Taught Me. Here are her top four:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone...
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

What will you do for yourself today?