Where Are My Mighty Queens?

This past week I had the chance to meet Amy Dickinson. She is he columnist for the Chicago Tribune (she is syndicated as well) that took over for Ann Landers. Her column is “Ask Amy”. She has recently written a book called, “Mighty Queens of Freeville”. The book is her story of moving back to her home town after being away the majority of her adult life as a successful professional writer raising her daughter as a single Mom. Not knowing what to expect returning she realized that she had missed the unconditional love and support of the women from her hometown. All the years alone she missed the advice from a special group of women who understand the daily struggles of women. This got me thinking about my own mighty queens.
I remember my high school click. Is that my mighty queens? From what Amy explains your mighty queens do not judge. In high school they judged. How about my women relatives? Amy explains that this group may in fact include relatives. Hers does. A might queens group is inclusive versus exclusive. It is a group that puts time aside for each other on a consistent basis. That is not my women relatives. The closest I can come is women network groups that I am involved in. The problem with these groups is that they are exclusive. In other words you belong to the group if you are an accepted member. There is nothing unconditional about it. Not to mention to admit to a business group that you have daily struggles (no matter what they are) would be a sign of weakness. Who wants weakness in business? Especially if you are a woman. So I conclude that I do not have my own mighty queens.
I have always been proud of the fact that I am a strong woman who can do things on her own. But after meeting Amy and contemplating what I may have missed I want to go to Freeville. When I feel alone I want a group of women that I can look forward to having lunch with. When I am struggling with my career I want a group of women that I can bounce ideas off from. When I miss my son who is off at college I want to have a group of women I can cry in front of. When I was going through a divorce I now know it would have been comforting to have women to turn to. So a trip to Freeville is on my “to do” list. However, I am not sure that Amy would be receptive to waves of women heading to her hometown. So creating a mighty queens group of my own in Minneapolis will be my next project. Anyone interested?