Important to take time out for yourself
Wednesday I awoke like I do most mornings, with a full to-do list chugging like a steam locomotive through my sleep-deprived brain. In the preceding two days, I’d interviewed a master quilter, a Japanese paper doll artist and an NFL referee.
In addition to work responsibilities, home duties kept me scrambling. I’d cooked a vat of chili, several pounds of chicken-and-rice casserole and made a slew of salami sandwiches in an effort to satisfy the starving savages who live in my home.
And it was only Wednesday.
A few weeks ago I’d written a profile about a cancer survivor. She said she asks herself each day, “Is there something I’m doing that brings me pleasure?”
I thought about that as I wandered into the kitchen where Sam greeted me with the news that he needed six paper towel tubes, a large oatmeal box and some apple seeds for his art project. I raced through the house, frantically unwinding paper towels in order to procure the cardboard tubes he needed.
Feeling like a failure, I dropped him off at school with only two. Nope. I wasn’t having fun yet, but that was about to change.
A couple of years ago, local radio station, KZZU, launched Working Women’s Wednesday. Hosted by Molly Allen, of “Dave, Ken and Molly in the Morning,” the event is an opportunity for ladies to enjoy a girls’ night out.
Allen said their first gathering drew about 40 women, but word soon spread, and now Working Women’s Wednesday attracts an average of 100 to 150 ladies each week.
“I notice a lot of women are making this their girls’ night out,” she said. The event changes location every six weeks or so. The venue that evening was the Safari Room in the Davenport Tower.
Because I live in a male- dominated household, estrogen- elevating occasions are extremely rare. I decided it was time for me to hang out with the girls.
At 5 p.m. I pulled my battered mom-mobile into the Davenport’s parking area. A smiling valet greeted me. “Are you here for Working Women’s Wednesday?” he asked.
I wondered what gave it away. The fact that I was an unaccompanied lady? The minivan? Or the pile of papers and manila folders teetering on the passenger’s seat?
No matter. With relief I relinquished my keys and entered the elegant lobby. The Safari Room already brimmed with ladies. Allen said the restaurants they frequent usually offer drink and appetizer specials for the group. This week the Safari Room featured a couple of $6 martinis and $6 flatbread appetizers. “It’s affordable,” said Allen. “Plus, you get valet parking and real towels in the restroom.”
Sounds of laughter and squeals of girlfriend greetings filled the room. Can I say something about girlfriend greetings? Men in general, rarely meet anyone with a hug. They greet each other with hearty back slaps or shoulder punches, and ladies with a nod or a handshake. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it was refreshing to be welcomed with open arms. I wandered among the tables, chatting with a variety of ladies. The question of why no radio station sponsors “Totally Testosterone Tuesday” was answered by a group of co-workers from a nearby medical office. “Every day is Man-Day,” said one gal with a laugh.
We women do tend to take our responsibilities and ourselves a tad too seriously. And some of us struggle with the idea that we deserve to have fun. “I don’t think we give ourselves a break enough,” said Allen, who confesses to expecting perfection from herself.
Her point was illustrated when I returned to the group of medical professionals a few minutes later. One of the ladies was missing. “She went home to make dinner for her family,” her friend confided.
Guilt pierced my heart as I pictured my husband and sons foraging for food in our cupboards, possibly munching on uncooked spaghetti or breakfast cereal – straight from the box.
I was distracted from my angst, however, when Allen started giving away stuff. Sponsors of Working Women’s Wednesday donate a variety of goodies each week. Women clapped and cheered as Allen pulled one name after another from a big bowl. Davenport gift certificates, magazine subscriptions, and spa days were among the prizes handed out. The prize receiving the most cries of approval was a gift certificate for lipomassage. The promise of a firmer bottom had a lot of ladies on the edge of their seats.
Gina Mauro, who works at the Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Working Women’s Wednesday “Has a mystique all its own.”
Maybe. But as I listened to the laughter around me and watched women letting go of to-do lists for just a few hours, I thought the allure of the event was pretty simple.
Cyndi Lauper said it best: “Girls just want to have fun.”