On one very special, expertly coordinated night each month a very important event occurs. I get to have dinner with some of my very best girlfriends. We’ve been friends for 20+ years which makes me feel old, but we still value our relationship just as we did as young girls in college. We all have children, husbands and jobs and it only takes a string of about 200 texts messages to get it planned, but we make it a priority to meet. We pick a nice restaurant, leave our kids at home and talk, laugh, vent and support each other for several hours. Our husbands have stopped asking when we will be home.
These nights are one of the most anticipated nights of the entire month and an appointment I try to never miss. This night together keeps me centered, sane and not feeling like I’m a complete psycho in my role as a mother. It’s cheaper than prescriptions, counselors and exotic vacations, and girls’ night seems to be just the medication my soul needs.
The conversation flows on and on for hours; we often lose track of time. We share our high and lows of marriage, parenthood, jobs and life in general. We support each other, laugh together and cry over our struggles. No topics are off limits, and we candidly share our lives with one another. We talk about anything and everything freely with no inhibitions, and it feels good to get it all out in the open.
I truly love nights with my family, really I do. But girls’ night is special to me and important in keeping me a strong, mostly patient, centered mom and wife. Girls’ night is our night to recharge our batteries, share our stories and eat a delicious meal in peace. We never judge one another and always offer constructive criticism to help navigate life’s rocky paths. I am a better person because of these nights and I know how much we all need a night away from the chaos of life. For a long time, I felt guilty for leaving my family but I don’t any longer, in fact, I make these nights a priority because they are essential in helping me maintain my composure as a wife and mother.
If you haven’t already gotten the idea, I LOVE girls’ nights. They aren’t wild and crazy evenings filled with partying, but these evenings are the savior of my sanity. I am eternally grateful for the ladies who make our dates a priority, fill my soul with joy and help me through tough times. So, if it’s been a while since you’ve been out with your girls, start a group text right now and plan a girls’ night ASAP. Enjoy this night without any guilty feelings of leaving your kids — you need this! You will not regret it.
