Five o’clock and Sandra and I are setting up. Chef and owner of Quartina Trattoria Giuseppe Cinque is deep in the kitchen cooking the most delicious food. We’re ready and the bar is open. Our speakers arrive and then so did all of the ladies.
Six o’clock and check-in begins. I even give into name tags…just first names and name of their favorite ice cream flavor. Why not? If we need name tags, then let’s make it fun. Good thing we did, there were so many new faces among the familiar.
And so it began….Plenty to drink and wonderful appetizers to start. The room was abuzz with curiosity. How did you hear about the event? How did you hear about Après Divorce? What’s your situation? How did Après Divorce start? I heard from many women who ventured out that evening that they found comfort in being around a community of women who understand what they are going through.
By 6:45 everyone was there, and the rest of the food was put out. By 7:00 we were just about ready to rock and roll. As usual, my timing was a little off so we started a few minutes later. It was difficult to yell above the chatter, but we managed to get everyone seated and delving into ‘Getting back into the dating world.’
First up was Dr. Ellyn Shander, an inspirational speaker who teaches ‘Be Magnificent’. And that’s exactly what she was. The women were engaged and the conversation began. Look in the mirror and exude confidence. You need to have that relationship with yourself before starting out. What one word describes you? The answers were varied…funny, caring, intelligent, honest were among the words our women answered with. ‘Manifesting the future’ was her closing tip; picture what you want, it could be yours. Now let’s go out and get it.
Next up Janis and Carly Spindel, “The Rolls Royce of Matchmaking”. A mother-daughter matchmaking team. They have over 2,200 successful marriage connections between them. Well, we wanted to know what some of the secrets were. And we were given a number of them! The message was clear, we need to exude confidence and don’t miss an opportunity. Be outside our comfort zone and smile. We can be the first to say hello. We have nothing to lose.
The message was clear on all fronts: Be magnificent because we are! A smile and confidence is so empowering. It’s not easy, but everyday keep getting better at it and the possibilities are endless.
Both speakers echoed the message of Après Divorce: Confidence is empowering and it can start off with a smile. Open that door…be adventurous. If you don’t, you’ll never know what’s behind it.
I want to thank Guiseppe, owner of Quartina Trattoria of South Norwalk for giving us his restaurant for the evening and serving such delicious food and wine, and speakers, Dr. Ellyn Shander, and Janis and Carly Spindel.
We have a great lineup for the next few months:
April 25th will find us at Danise Talbot Design and an evening of conversation on handling new financial situations after divorce, refreshing our homes for ourselves and a chef showing us how to cook for one.
May will bring us Mother’s Day, parenting and legal situations that arise. We also have lined up a radio talk show host.
June is all about socializing, online dating, image, that profile pic and more. We have a celebrity hair and makeup artist with some tips.
