Breaking Bread With the Breakfast Club

This has been designated FREE WEEK at Four Foxes, One Hound, which means that I need to find my own topic to write about. I could write about one of my many hobbies, but since I understand I’m going to have a free week every month, there will be plenty of time for that. Instead, I decided to start writing about some of the groups of people who give me encouragement, support, and inspiration. Today I’m going to tell you about a breakfast club of sorts.

I feel very fortunate to live less than ten miles from where I grew up. Other than the first year of my life (we moved to America when I was eleven months old) and the four years I spent in college (I attended Illinois State University in Normal, IL) I’ve spent the last six decades just south of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

A few years ago, one of my high school acquaintances decided it would be a good idea to have a monthly get-together at a local restaurant for a Saturday brunch. And every month, she posts the date and location on Facebook – even if she can’t be there. I attend as many as I can – it’s near my mother’s house, so I eat and catch up on everyone’s news and then go to mom’s to help her with whatever chores she needs to get done.

Most of these women were just casual acquaintances back when I was in high school. Some of them I didn’t know at all. It wasn’t a huge school – about 180 in my graduating class – but the group that gathers has an age span of about fifteen years, so some had graduated by the time I got to high school, and some entered high school after I had left. Still, over the course of two or three years, we’ve gotten to know each other and look forward to finding out how life is treating us. Several of us have lost parents and siblings. When one mentioned on Facebook that her sister wasn’t doing well and could use some cards and notes of encouragement, two people brought in several get-well cards that we all signed.

I find it a joy to be able to put this event on my calendar each month. The only thing most of us have in common is that for a few years of our lives we attended the same school. But though we’re different ages, and have had different life experiences, we find comfort in meeting with each other regularly. Most of us are Facebook friends

Where do you find your support? Do you have a group of mismatched friends who become good friends despite their differences?

This type of wide-ranging women is the basis for the Stitching Post series, written with co-author Stephanie Michels. Women with no common thread except their love of sewing meet weekly and draw strength from each other. Check out the first two in the series (click on the cover for more info):