Not long ago I was invited to a girls weekend up at a cottage.
No Men. No Kids.
Just wine, and food and girly stuff.
Sounds great right?
Well perfectly wonderful until you figure out you, well you ….are a bit lost.
A couple of days before I was supposed to leave for this blissful weekend…I started to feel…unwell?
(now truth be told I also had a migraine I could not shake and some lingering back issues blah blah blah…but this was on top of that regular fun stuff) This was different…
A strange tightening in my chest, a bit of head spinning, nightmares. What was going on? Was this a heart attack or had I developed some crazy kind of anxiety issue? Dr. Google was no help at all. My SassyHubby was right, I should never search “symptoms” of any kind on the net.
I think I was just starting to panic at the sheer volume of things I had to get done before I could take off for my care free 24 hours. Wait, “care free for 24 hours“. What is that? Apparently it’s a real thing. What did I have to do in order to get to that mystical unknown place?
- make sure there were groceries in the fridge
- throw a load of towels in the wash
- pick up dog food
- was there clean clothes for the kids. I know they are old enough to do their own, but stress doesn’t know logic
- clean up the house, although I don’t know why I would bother because we all know it won’t be clean by the time I get home.
- book hotel for upcoming family trip
- pick up supplies to make cupcakes Monday night
- put gas in the car
- get my nails done
- was my hair okay
- what would I wear?
- what bag would I take
- shouldn’t I take food too?
….the list went on and on and showed no sign of slowing.
After going over my never ending list of “to do’s” I finally realized something…it had been an awfully long time since I just took some time for me. It had been even longer since I took some real time with girlfriends.
That’s when I figured out what that crushing, anxious, sick feeling was. Did I remember how to do this? Did I still know how to kick back and be ME? Not professional me, not the Mommy, not wife me…just Steph.
Deep breath and a bottle of wine. It was time to just do it. No “to do” list, anxiety feeling, don’t have anything to wear was going to stop me now. I put on my big girl panties, and I went. And you know what? I loved it.
I laughed, I cried, I rejoiced with friends and I sang in the car all the way home. The best part. I came home tired but refreshed, energized, happy and swearing I wouldn’t wait that long to do it all again. So thankful to realize I hadn’t lost me, I’d just forgotten where I’d put myself for a while.
Three cheers for friends old and new; and a question: When was the last time you did something just for you?
I haven’t seen it yet but i heard it was good !
I just has a weekend with a couple of girlfriends with lots of conversation,wine,board games and our favorite Pretty Woman and an Officer and a Gentleman!
I think it’s important to have girls nights so you get a time where it’s all about you for a change, instead of everything about everything and everyone else
Life gets busy, so sometimes I forget about myself, but sometimes I put things aside to take time to care for myself.
Good for you! This is something I find very difficult to do, it’s a struggle but so necessary and worth it, in the end!
wow me time…. haven’t had that in a long time. you are onto something for sure with a girls weekend
It is soooo important to make time for ourselves!!! this sounds like exactly what you needed!
I haven’t taken a me time weekend in a long while. I get little mini me times (see what I did there?) here and there, so at least they add some to something, but I bet a whole weekend would be just amazing!