“Girl power” isn’t just a topic for youngsters. Adult women, too, sometimes discover that finding one’s voice takes intention, effort, and spending time in the company of other women in whom you can find your reflection. I’ve had the privilege in the past two weeks to have been in the company of several groups of women with whom I find such opportunity for personal exploration and growth. These deeply satisfying conversations help us bring out our best; they give us a safe place to reflect, and to give voice to our struggles and questions; they help us grow.

I was enchanted when I received my “song of the month” from singer/songwriter Anna Huckabee Tull last week. Anna’s approach is unique; she writes custom-crafted songs for which she is commissioned. Always meaningful and deep, she touches a special cord with all who know her work. Her song this month tells a beautiful story about girls, and is the new anthem for a a non-profit in the Boston area called LEAP, an organization dedicated to helping at-risk girls “unlock their voices.” One LEAP girl notes the value of her expression by saying “What you don’t express seems less and less real until you become unsure if it even exists.”

Read about the backstory, how this song came to be, and enjoy.

http://www.customcraftedsongs.com/leapstorybehindthesong

Summer camp changed my life.  The joy of summer at camp was so profoundly fulfilling it’s difficult to describe. Some of the most lovely memories are linked to living in such close proximity to nature…the sound of the rain on the cabin roof;  the very same lake water that was chilly on a hot day was mysteriously warm in the summer rain; falling asleep to the sound of bullfrogs croaking in the nearby pond, the dark Maine sky so full of millions of stars not visible in city skies… how fortunate I was to have those experiences growing up.

The Fresh Air Fund creates chances for New York inner-city kids to get some summer time in the country, either at camps or as guests in hosts’ homes.  It’s not too late to change a kids’ life this summer, and any donations made before June 30 will be matched 100%.

I’m sending in my donation right now. Will you?  More info