Amazing women

I love this women's outdoor exercise group that I go to on a regular basis. I love running in the woods, and connecting with the earth and slowing down during pilates and yoga and just enjoying the lovely green-ness of Portland.

But the women who take the class are just amazing people, and have stories of other amazing women.

One of the women received some money from her mother, so she quit her job to pursue her writing and art.

One met her husband while they were Peace Corps volunteers in Africa, and she just took her two little girls to her village for the first time.

Another is a mother to five-year-old triplets. Oy!

Today, I heard a story of the instructor's mother's friend. She had seven children, was pregnant with her eighth, when her husband was killed. She was a singer and performer who was asked to perform at the opening of the Amway in Michigan in the Tootsie Van Kelly salon. She became "Tootsie Van Kelly," complete with outrageous boas and wigs. Apparently, through it all, she always managed to smile and love life and just conquer whatever challenges came her way.

I'm so glad I came across this group. I love it for how it makes me feel and the people I meet.