We are LLHN

Once in a while I like to leave my lappy on and I sit and watch my screen saver switch through the pictures I have uploaded. I did this yesterday and one photo inspired this post.

I'm going to be honest, I wasn't really excited about going home for Christmas when the cost of my flight ended up being way out of my budget. However, I am going home anyway and I am now getting excited for several reasons. The reason that I will highlight in this post has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas. It has everything to do with the acronym LLHN...

Story time:

The story of LLHN is the story of six women, including myself, who found each other and a liberated part of themselves in the summer of 2007. Since LLHN is a very private and sacred sisterhood, I must be careful in the details that I heretofore divulge. What I share with you is either common knowledge at this point, i.e. documented on facebook, or does not jeopardize the sanctity of our creed.

In the early summer of 2007, one of the six of us had tickets to the premier of the movie Waitress. I was in between semesters at BYU, so lucky for me, my sister was friends with the girl with tickets and I got invited to go. Well, I knew the girl too; we were already all acquainted at the time, but were not connected in the way that real friends are. The movie was raunchy, ridiculous, and yet we all loved it. Bonding occurred at the Manchester movie theater.

We had been spending time at a guy friend's house (who shall now be referred to as Guy) in the evenings because he was having trouble with his back and appreciated visitors to check on him--well, there were other reasons too. Anyway, after the movie, we hung out at Guy's place. We bought pies from Marie Callender's since June was the month for pie sales and it fit with the movie. Guy had graciously allowed us to have girl talk in his room while he hung outside. In that room, we discovered how connected we all were. It was only natural to form a sisterhood. We proceeded to outline a creed.

Then we needed a name. All we could come up with on our own was Liberated Ladies. Guy came in from outside at the perfect time. I think he's the only man who has ever been allowed at our meetings. He liked to call us the Ladies of the Hot North (we all were in the Fresno North Stake). So Guy added his bit to our name and we became the Liberated Ladies of the Hot North (LLHN). I can't tell you exactly why we were liberated, but I can tell you there was nothing crude or questionable about it. If I could describe it in one word, I would say it was divine and if I had one more word I would say it was a comfort. Women need the reassurance that comes from a sisterhood. This is one reason that I love the LDS Relief Society so much. I see the formation of LLHN as one of the most inspiring times of my life.

The rest of the summer revolved around activities with LLHN. We mother-earth-danced, body painted, walked around the Buchanan complex for exercise, planned multiple group dates, fought a bit over boys (remember Guy? one of many), tie-dyed, swam, played in Santa Cruz, hiked in the mountains, danced on the beach in Pismo, had slumber parties, played "It Came to Pass," comforted each other during relationship woes, and laughed and gyrated to the wondrous sounds of Mika.

On July 7, 2007, we woke up early and drove to a place in Clovis known as the Dikes (ha! the name holds no reference to our sisterhood). We had a photo shoot with the six of us, which provided the photos for this post. There have been new sisters added since that time, but the photo shoot documents the original six. There are a few things about the photos that show what our sisterhood meant to me. 1. We touch, we embrace, and we hold each other and don't let go. 2. We are not always smiling, because life is not always happy; but life is always beautiful and good. 3. We are eclectic. 4. We are surrounded by nature and warmth. The golden California grass permeates every photo. 5. We look to the future with hope and ambition. AND 6. We could use these pictures on an album cover for our *all-girl rock band.


Do you see what I see?

tehehe

I loved that scarf. I got it in Paris. I think it is now shredded to bits somewhere along the Susquehanna river.

Our version of The Garden State scene.

That's the history of the formation, but the story of LLHN continues. One of the original six is married and expecting a baby girl (Baby's basically been inducted into the sisterhood from the womb). Two more originals are engaged and getting married next year. The other two originals are probably soon to follow. I can't be as optimistic about getting married next year. But maybe I'll actually date someone? Ha!

I'm excited about being home and spending at least a little time with the ladies. I crave the kind of connection that I have with these women. It endures space and time, but it's much more enjoyable when the space is lessened. I feel so blessed that the fabulous LG is here in DC with me.

beck

*We have not yet formed a band, but we could...if we wanted to...