Life's Little Lessons

Last weekend was girls weekend.   A time when my sister and I meet up with childhood friends for a brief reprieve with hours of fun, renewal and laughter.   We take off all those other hats we wear daily and only  leave just one:  FRIEND.

Our group started this yearly event nearly 16 years ago, and I have only missed a few.  We have had some remarkable times.  Some of my favorite memories of past weekends were:

1.  The year we ate at a fancy restaurant up Lolo creek and decided to have a contest when we ordered ribs to see who could be the messiest by not using a napkin.  Boy did we get some looks!

2.  The time we went to a tiny town in western Montana where the locals glared at us as we entered a bar. By the end of the night we had won them all over and snapped a picture of approximately 50 faces posing with us on the dance floor as if we were all best friends!

3.  The year of the lake in a beautiful serene cabin when it was snowing and two of us brave souls decided we weren’t Montana women unless we could skinny dip in the lake at 2 am.   We did, indeed, prove to be Montana women!

We’ve been immature, crazy, mellow (more as the years pass), reflective and absolutely ridiculous sometimes.   But that is what makes our time so fun.   When the mom’s away the alter ego can play!!   Girlfriends add vitality to my life.  I can talk if I want, or not talk at all.   I can cry, laugh, bitch or be angry without judgment or bias.  I can hope, dream and say asinine statements without fear of being held accountable!  Girlfriends gift me the “present” to be who I want to be in the moment of NOW.   At the end of our get away the only purpose we have is to show up next year ready for a new location, a new adventure and a few new wrinkles.

This Thanksgiving I tip my friend hat to the girls!  Thanks for showing up through the good, bad, and ugly.  Thanks for sharing your love of Montana, nature, music, wine and food with me.   Even though it is a challenge to find that weekend we can all sacrifice the memories are always priceless!

Time away, a beautiful setting, and a chance to become a better mom, wife, sister and person.   Want time  to rejuvenate? Think about giving a gift of time this holiday season.   What a better setting than a cabin in Montana.   Check out this beautiful location:

http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1099452

To the girls:  Thanks for giving me some of my most memorable times of my life!  Happy Thanksgiving!

LIFE LESSON? “Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it.  Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.” Harvey MacKay