I love my little family and I adore my daughter. She is a mommy’s girl and at least for the time being prefers spending time with me over anyone else – which makes my heart really happy.
But every once in awhile I need to be away from my family spending time with my friends.
I have made this a priority in our household ever since my daughter was little.
Like most moms, my life is busy with lots of mom related activities. I love the fact that I get the opportunity to work outside the home part time which allows me to spend more time at home with my family. I also don’t mind a lot of the mom related activities: cooking, laundry, cleaning, driving my daughter to various activities, packing lunches, looking after our home, etc. But as much as I love my family and my life, I find it essential to get away from them and recharge.
I make sure that I have girlfriends getaways each year (at least once)!
These trips are not extravagant or expensive and for me, two nights away on a weekend has done the trick. I usually get together with three friends from Massachusetts. We all used to work together and traveled for work. We enjoyed our work trips so much that we started extending work trips into mini girls trips.
I adore my little trips with my girlfriends. Our trips are usually simple, we pick a destination that is within driving distance and look for places that offer good restaurants and shopping. We don’t stay at expensive hotels and don’t spend a ton of money on food. From piling in one room in Boston during the Head of the Charles to staying at our friend’s lake house in New Hampshire, we have had our share of adventures. The weekend activities typically consist of relaxing, shopping, eating, drinking wine and lots of talking and laughing.
Here are some of the reasons that I go my girlfriends getaways:
- A much needed break for me from my family – Let’s face it as much as we love and adore are families, we all burn out and need a little time away.
- Connecting with my friends – There is nothing like getting together with your good girlfriends who you feel comfortable with. Girlfriends have a way of knowing how to compliment you just the right way and will tell you if an outfit does not look right. They don’t mind if you vent or complain and will laugh and cry with you.
- Teaching my daughter the value of good friendships – As my daughter gets older, I want her to understand and appreciate the value of good friendships and learn that it takes work to maintain these relationships. I want my daughter to aspire to have a good group of life long friends that know and understand her better than anyone and when she has her own family, I want her to make the time for these special friendships.
- Quality time with dad – In our household, my husband works full time and has a stressful and demanding job. The dynamics of this mean that I am the primary caregiver for our daughter and although he is home every night and he is a tremendous help to me, the dynamics change when I am not home. During my girl trips, they get to do cool things like play video games, go out to lunch and visit with friends. My daughter usually gets to stay up late and It gives them both a chance to spend uninterrupted time together.
- They miss me – It’s nice to come home after a weekend away and be missed by my husband and daughter. Being away for a couple of days makes them both appreciate me a little more and that is always a good thing.
- I miss them – A weekend away reminds me how fortunate to have my amazing life and how much I enjoy my most important job.
