'I will always celebrate Galentine’s Day'

Recently a friend and I were both going through a stressful time. She shared an article she had read that claimed men had less stress because they tended to live in the moment more. She joked that her new mantra was: ‘Be more man’.

Whether that theory holds out or not, (it seems debatable to me) my friend and I are mothers and we agreed that we couldn’t simply just think about the ’here and now’ because we had children to consider. Little ones who needed feeding at dinner time and their uniform washed for school the following week. Childcare and managing a household calls for some level of future thinking which this particular article considered a source of stress.

The meaning of Galentine’s Day is, according to Wikipedia, a day that can be celebrated any time between 1st and the 13th of February and is for ‘empowerment, a reminder for women to support and uplift one another’.

The meaning of Galentine’s Day is, according to Wikipedia, a day that can be celebrated any time between 1st and the 13th of February and is for ‘empowerment, a reminder for women to support and uplift one another’. It was originally invented by the writing staff of television show Parks and Recreation. As an antidote to Valentine’s Day, and being a single woman, it appeals to me. The idea though, is not necessarily just for those without a romantic partner on Valentine’s Day, but a positive celebration of our ‘gal pals’, single or not.

Maybe Galentine’s Day appeals to you and your friends too? Over the past few years, walking through a divorce, finding myself a single parent of three, and with a co-parent living three hours drive away, I have leaned heavily on my female friends. I have four incredibly close friends who know all the good and bad stuff on my mind and heart, have wiped away my tears, sent me silly memes on whatsapp or instagram, taken me out and brought me flowers.

I have prayed for them and their family members walking through cancer, remembered their birthdays (mostly!), bought them gifts, cheered them on for job interviews and babysat their children. I love to celebrate them, pray for them and be there for them. Beyond the close four there are other friends who I know I could call on, who I would be there for and am grateful for.

‌Over the past few years, walking through a divorce, finding myself a single parent of three, and with a co-parent living 3 hours drive away, I have leaned heavily on my female friends

It’s true that through the crises of life you find out who your true friends are. That’s not to say that those who aren’t as close aren’t equally as important. Some friends ebb in and out of your life and different life stages can affect how much time we can give to each other. Recently I caught up with a friend who lives on the other side of the world, who I haven’t seen or talked to in years and yet we picked up the conversation and talked at a depth as if we’d hung out the previous week. I have friends who are older than me and others who are slightly younger. Often when one of us is up, the other is down and vice versa, but that makes us perfect cheerleaders for each other.

So Galentine’s Day is a great opportunity to think about our female friends, celebrate them, or commiserate with them. To show up, especially for those that may not get gifted a card, chocolates or roses on February 14th. But I have a sneaky suspicion that we don’t actually need a ‘Galentine’s Day’ to celebrate our female friends, because we are already doing it every week. While we may not be ‘being more man’, we are being women - women living in the now and helping each other to stress less.

Cheering you on girls!