May Day Brunch and Interesting Conversation

So a friend of mine (let's call her Ms. La) hosted a May day brunch this past weekend.  The brunch was women only, and each woman had to be ready to talk about a woman influence in her life.

On the day of the brunch (a BEAUTIFUL 80º here in the Bay Area), about 20 of us got together (women of all ages and races, including my and Ms. La's mothers-in-law).  When we walked into the door, we were asked to write our name on a tag, along with one quality we wish we had.

After we gorged on some yummy food and mimosas (yours truly was a self-assigned bartender), we all went outside to soak up the rays and chat.  There was a large banner we all had to write our "one favorite quality that you love about the woman inside you."  I thought this was SUCH a cool idea, since as women, we spend so much time talking about what we don't like about ourselves, that it was nice to finally concentrate on what we did like.

Then we all sat around and everyone went thru introductions and the quality we wished we had.  I felt so validated to hear how many women wanted "patience" (which was my quality), or balance, or calm, or to learn to apprecaite the present.

The last thing we did was write on an index card what was preventing us from being the woman we wanted to be. 

I thought this was such a fun way to talk about ourselves and learn tips from others on how to optimize time for ourselves and how to learn our wanted qualities.  Below, I included the things I listed:

Quality I wish I had :  Patience.  I spend so much time trying to never say no, that I end up being exhausted and overwhelmed, and therefore short tempered to the people who love me.

Quality I love about myself :  The amount of energy that I bring into every situation I'm in.

What's Preventing me from being who I want to be :  Time.  I'm a people pleaser (I'm the oldest child, what do you expect) and spend so much time concentrating on keeping everyone happy that I tend to forget about myself. 

I left the event with one thing I'm going to improve :  Making time for myself.  I will make time for myself every two weeks...whether that means going to the spa, getting a pedi, or just sitting at home while the Hubbers plays tennis.

I encourage you all to try this activity with your group of girlfriends..its amazing how much you learn about other people and how validated you can feel.