10+ Women, 10 Years, 100 books

I was doing a little housekeeping on the blog today and found this unpublished little gem.  Before the year is over I figured I would publish it in honor of the great women, the great books and the ten years we have been together.  Cheers to our monthly "meetings"!

We started as a group of friends and strangers, interested in reading books and discussing them.  Ten years later we have evolved into a group of friends, who in spite of scheduling challenges, are still committed to meeting once a month and discussing our most recent read and whatever life has dealt us.  Some months we discuss more about life than we do about the book, it all depends on the book... and life!
 
In the early years we met in each others' homes, in the dining room or the kitchen.  There is something intimate about being in someones home.  This intimacy lead to some memorable discussions over the years... most of which cannot be shared on the blog.  Sharing intimate parts of our lives brought us closer.  People who know certain things about you can only be considered close friends.  Book discussions brought us to places we never expected!

Our group has seen members come and go over ten years.  There is still a core group of about five of us who have been there from the beginning and another four who have been with us for a long time.  Some members drop out because they relocate, and we still miss them and talk about them from time to time.  All good, don't worry!  Life's commitments have forced a few to bow out as well.  When I moved to Toronto for a few years I continued to participate in the club by reading the books and calling in for the meetings.  I was the phone that got passed around the table.  At the time there were a couple of new members I had not met and they only knew me as the phone at the table.  I missed out on some good times I'm sure!

Over ten years, we have gone through graduations, job changes, deaths of parents, divorce, marriages of children, becoming grandmothers, winning and losing to cancer, turning the big "0" (50 or 60) together and the death of one of our treasured members.  We still take pause every now and then and throw out a famous Debbie quote.  "This...doesn't just happen.",she would say, referring to her loveliness as she headed home early to get her beauty sleep.  She is gone but never forgotten.

After a meeting, at one of our members' homes last spring, I wrote most of this post.  I did the math and counted the books, roughly, and was amazed.  Ten years sounds like a long time but it sure doesn't feel like a long time, especially when it is full of (mostly) good books and good friends.