“the ladies of hartford”

Since Saturday I have taken four walks in an effort to jump start my “get the body back” efforts. Not sure I’ve seen any results yet, but it feels good to start thinking about meeting my first goal – buying two new outfits. I have bunch of special events coming up and I never know what to wear…

 

Anyway, as I was walking I started thinking about where I might go shopping and what I think would look good on me and I found myself thinking about a group of ladies I know who are such smart dressers. They always look “just so” and they do a great job of wearing the latest trends in a way that looks personal and pulled together on them. I really appreciate this talent because my sense of style has been drained out of me and I seem only able to buy practical things like nursing bras and flat heeled shoes.

These ladies also inspire my home decorating. They have the most beautiful gardens and their houses are always pretty and inviting. I love seeing the special things that they bring out for the holidays as well as the many ambitious things they make themselves. I always feel so welcomed in their homes and I enjoy that they humor me as I pump them for information on how to create the feeling of home in my house as well – even if I am decorating around a train table and just now getting around to landscaping the front yard.

One of the other areas of interest that I share with these women is a love for reading. These ladies read like wildfire and they have really good taste. They challenge me to read books that really stick with me – ones that I might never have picked up before. They inspired me to start a book club with my playgroup moms and they like to hear about what I have found to read. As the kids have taken over more and more of my life reading easily gets put on the backburner. These ladies have unknowingly given me a push to carve out some “me time” in order to enjoy a good read – a luxury I might have otherwise let go.

The funny thing is that these ladies are people that I have known most of my life. They have watched me grow up and somehow penetrated the heart of a self-absorbed teenager to really make an impression. While they politely asked about me and my accomplishments over they years, my interest in their areas of expertise grew. When I went to England, one of then asked me to tea to tell me about her travels. When I got married others were there arranging flowers. For each of my children there have been gifts and when I was put on bed rest they helped take care of me. Now, when I really need a break – they encourage me to get a babysitter and come for dinner.

As I finished my walk still thinking about my mom’s friends – “The Ladies of Hartford,” I call them– making mom laugh – I considered how cool it is to have my own mentors. Like my sister and my husband who have such people at their work, these ladies have been were I am, and have lived to tell the tale. They are strong, talented, classy women who are just hitting their prime – and the funny thing is – they’d know what I ought to wear.