Activity #1 | Little Women and a lot of popcorn
A few of you have asked for updates, so I am going to start writing about the experiences with my Year of Discomfort" project.
For those that aren't familiar, you can read about why and what I'm doing by clicking here.
Okay, I asked Siri to pick a random number between 1-27 (because I don't have all 52 yet), and I got "Go to the theater and watch a movie by myself." It was one of the easier options listed, no doubt. I don't go to the theater often…as in I probably haven't watched a movie at the theater in 5+ years.
I randomly selected Little Women and never in a million years would I choose to watch Little Women on a random Tuesday afternoon. Ever.
I grabbed my popcorn and plopped down in my seat. I thought it would have felt more awkward, but it didn't at all. It was nice not having to share my popcorn, lol, and to veg out and watch the movie.
The hardest part was sitting still for 2 hours during the day.
The movie reminded me of a time years ago when I started the "Ya-Ya Sisterhood" with my nieces. They were all over at my house, and my youngest niece Lexi, who was 6 or 7 at the time, felt left out because the others were quite a few years older (15-18).
So that night, we officially started the Ya-Ya sisterhood, and we initiated her. We came up with a chant, we sat around a fire in the backyard, and we shared the rules for the "secret group." Spoiler alert: we made the rules up on the spot, but we made it seem like a big deal.
The next morning as I drove her home, she looked over at me all wide-eyed and said, "Aunt Shell. How many people know about this group?" Just us, Lexi, just us. She stared out the window as we drove home smiling and god only knows what thoughts were running through her head. We made up some weird rules, Lol, but she absolutely loved feeling included and she felt very special during the initiation phase because all eyes were on her. Fun fact: We also had Lexi convinced that my niece, Kat, had a twin sister. We never knew which "twin" would show up to the family gatherings, and it was always a mystery. We somehow carried this off for 10 or 11 years (no joke). My brother accidentally spilled the beans and ruined our little game.
Anyway, the group dissolved as the years passed. I started traveling more for work, and everyone went off to do their adult things. Lexi would ask about the Ya-Ya group from time-to-time.
And life happened as it tends to do.
I finished the movie, and I texted the group (including my Mom and sister) and told them that the Ya-Ya's are coming back together, and our first meet-up was going to take place at my house the following week.
My Mom bought these cute little flowered headbands for each of us and surprisingly the majority were able to make it. Two had college stuff going on and couldn't join, but they were there in spirit.
It was super fun to get everyone together, and it's so much different than the regular family gathering. We all took turns sharing the below with the group:
Something good that has happened since last time
Something we're struggling with and could use help/advice (each of us chimes in with our input)
A goal that we will accomplish before our next meeting
We opened with the official chant and closed with the official sign off (official in that we make one up each time because we can never remember).
So cute. So fun.
My youngest niece is going through some tough stuff right now, so the timing was perfect. She's 13 and dealing with all the stuff teens go through. She loves the twenty-something Ya-Ya's because they are much closer to her age and much cooler than Aunt Machele.
I think we all enjoyed it. Life is short, and time goes by in a flash, so we are going to start meeting monthly. We cannot wait until we can officially initiate Emily (pictured above), the new youngest (no pressure, Heather, lol).
If you are lucky enough to have several women in your family, start your own Ya-Ya group. Seriously, it is so fun. Who can’t use a little more support in their life?
Feel free to drop me an email if you have any questions or need help coming up with ideas for your Ya-Ya group.
Our second meeting was in February and we set it up as school-style valentine’s party. Everyone had a little box/bag and we each brought Valentine’s goodies. Pretty fun stuff y’all.
If you don't have any women in your family, start a Bro-Bro Brotherhood. You could talk about oil changes, golf, women taking over the world, stuff like that.
Machele Galloway is a Certified Life Coach through The Life Coach School. She's based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and specializes in helping her clients manage their time and their minds. She firmly believes that you can't manage one without managing the other. She virtually coaches women nationwide. If she isn't coaching clients, she is studying concepts and techniques. And if she isn't doing that, she's probably playing with a dog somewhere. If you are interested in working with Machele, click here to schedule your free consultation to find out if it’s a good fit for you. And this is actually me writing this. I just followed the example and referenced myself in the third person. Awkward and professional, don’t you think?
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