Friendship forges inspirational women's site
by Nadine Armstrong of the Hants County Journal
Anastasia LeFrense (left) and neighbor Jacqui Miller-Parker share more than just a paddock for their two horses, Tristan (shown here) and Buddy. They share a life experience and a new women's-only website.
Friendship forges inspirational women's site
It started as many great ideas do; around the kitchen table. After a long winter living in rural Nova Scotia, two women made a remarkable discovery: they found each other and a strength they never knew existed. What was born was a women's-only website, designed to empower and support women from all walks of like.
“Once you get to a certain age, you start to re-evaluate your life,” said Jacqui Miller-Parker. “It was a time for change, a time to take charge of our lives.” So one evening she and neighbor Anastasia LeFrense decided to become a vehicle for inspiration on the worldwide web.
Their site, allempoweredwomen.com provides quotes, links and a message board where women can write their own inspirational stories. The homepage states, “We are one, one women, one story, one community.”
“You don't know what kind of juice you are until you're squeezed,” LeFrense said. When she moved to Greenhill from Victoria, B.C. she never dreamed that weeks later her husband would head back out west to work for the winter, leaving her with three young children in a strange new environment.
Just down the road, Parker’s husband was also called to work out west and she too was on her own with a home and family to manage.
“It was like fate brought us together,” LeFrense said, as she and Parker began to share company and stories over the kitchen table and late night phone calls. They found uncanny similarities.
“We both have three children, are both on our own and we both love horses,”LeFrense said. But it didn't end there.
“We have the same history, the same story,” Parker said, and both women knew they would need to lean on each other to get by.
Redirect their lives
LeFrense learned about plumbing after dealing with a flooded basement, dry well and broken shower. Parker was left to split and stack wood for the first time. And that just scratched the surface of their season together. They also tackled painting a room, maintaining vehicles, fixing taps and all the other day-to-day tasks normally relegated to their husbands.
The two friends realized there was more to life than the daily demands of motherhood and domestic bliss. They found themselves asking, 'what makes me happy?'
“Neither of us could answer that question; we talked about it all night,” LeFrense said.
“We talked about a lot of women’s issues,” Parker said.
It was time to redirect their lives and, for them, that meant developing a platform upon which women could inspire and challenge one another.
“Women can feel isolated anywhere, in any situation, so we wanted to create something where women can support and learn from each other,” Parker said.
It only took one evening to get the site up and running. but “the groundwork was laid over the past year,” Parker said.
Started locally with Mayor Allen
The first woman asked to share her story on the site was Windsor Mayor Anna Allen. “She's just so full of life and energy and has done so mush for the town,” Parker said. In the early days, Allen stayed home to raise three children and help with her husband's plumbing business.
“We figured we'd start locally and go from there and she has so much knowledge to share,” Parker said.
Allen said she was thrilled with the opportunity to speak about her life. “I think it's a great way to support each other and find out what inspires other women, what their goals are. We need something like this.” Allen also included information about the 'Women in Local Government' project she created in 2004.
LeFrense and Parker plan to include practical links as well that for starters will give the basics on home and auto repair. “I think once women realize how simple some chores really are they'll be more likely to pick up a hammer and do it themselves,” LeFrense said.
They hope to find sponsors that will add sites dedicated to such practicalities. “Why not have a link that will demonstrate how to paint a room or change the oil in your car, with a list of required tools?” Parker said. “Why not give women the chance to say, 'I can do that'?”
Tone is always positive
The site is still in its infancy and the total picture is open to suggestions. “We welcome ideas; we don't want to confine ourselves to any one theme,” Parker said.
LeFrense agreed the site should cover a gamut of experiences. “We want it to envelope the physical, emotional and spiritual side of women's lives. Everyone needs someone to bounce things off of.”
Its tone will remain positive. “It’s not designed for women to go on and whine about their husbands. It’s not about them, it's about us; women and all we can do if we take the chance,” Parker said.
LeFrense said it would’ve been a miserable winter without their friendship and now they have a new direction on which to focus their energy. “We're on the same bus. We may not know where it's headed, but we're driving it together,” she said.
Parker knows her life has changed for the better. “My son will grow up saying, 'women can do anything', but my daughter will grow up saying, 'I can do anything'.”
