Yentas

I am participating in the Blogging From A-Z Challenge.  Each day in April (except Sunday), I will post topic themes that begin with the letters of the alphabet, from A-Z.  Today's letter is Y.

For those unfamiliar with the term "Yenta", allow me to elaborate:

n. - (Yiddish) a woman who talks too much; a gossip unable to keep a secret; a woman who spreads rumors and scandal

When I think of a Yenta, I tend to focus less on the gossip aspect and more on the kinship.  Like having your own version of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.  I envision a group of women who know each other better than they know themselves.  Women who raise their children together and then go on to be old biddies together.  Like the Golden Girls, except with husbands and separate houses.  Drinking far more than is appropriate for their age and spouting out the most inappropriately hilarious things in public.  

I didn't grow up in one place, so my Yentas don't fit the bill as Ya-Yas because we didn't form a bond in elementary school, nor did we perform some silly rituals as children that held us together throughout our teens and into adulthood.  I have quite a few female friends, several of whom I love with my whole heart, but the Yentas get a separate distinction.   In my mind, there are a select few life experiences that women go through together that takes a friendship from being close to being sister-like.  That sister-like friendship is what I consider Yenta-status.  

Karaoke w/ my Yentas

In books and in movies, close girl friends get together nearly every day or talk on the phone constantly.  Their husbands/boyfriends are background players, taking a lesser role to their friendship.  This is another point where I think we differ.  We all love our guys & prefer to spend most of our time with them.  The instances of man-free get togethers are very few & far between.  When they do happen, they're fun and we promise to do it more often, but we never do because the reality is that we miss our guys when they're not around.  We also have kids or step kids, so weekend getaways aren't exactly in the cards.  Also, it's 2013...who talks on the phone these days?!  Not us!

If I had to choose my Yentas right now, there would only be 2.  There are 2 others that I consider very close, but like I said before, there are certain milestones in life that women experience together that makes them closer than friends.  Since I'm making up this little gang in my head, I might as well make those runner-up Yentas into a "thing".  Like interns or pledges.  Of course, this is all from my perspective.  There is no Grand Poobah and if there were, it certainly wouldn't be me.  Maybe these girls don't want to be considered Yentas.  Maybe they think it's derogatory.  Of course, I usually call them bitches & they never have a problem with that, so somehow I think Yenta won't bother them. 

Did you hear that, Chrysi & Chrissie?!  You bitches are my Yentas.  Deal with it.