If Loving My Weekend Is Wrong, I Don't Wanna Be Right!

I will try to tell the story of my weekend without wailing. The threat of tears is imminent as I sit and contemplate the glorious, fun-filled two day GIRLS Weekend I just had the privilege to participate in.

First of all, I am going to publicly thank my husband for acknowledging the benefit to my mental well-being in allowing me this time away and for his financial contribution to make this little dream of mine come true. I also need to thank in a BIG, HUGE, ENORMOUS way, my parents and my in-laws who not only kept, feed, bathed, played with and comforted my sweet little girl while I went away and left her for the first time in her entire life, but also kept my house-training, biting, not socially trained at all - eight week old puppy!

Thank you all from the bottom of my refreshed and relaxed mommy heart!

The weekend started for me on Friday when I successfully dropped off both of my "kiddos" and headed down the road toward Helen, GA. If you have never been to Helen, GA, you need to find a time in your life to visit. I have been going there for one day jaunts, weekend trips and even a vacation week or two over the course of the last twenty-five years or so - maybe even longer. The town is modeled after a Bavarian village and everywhere you go, you hear German music, see cuckoo clocks and lots of pretty buildings. A fun, quaint, getaway in the North Georgia mountains. It is only about three hours from my home, so the drive is nice and ambles through some quaint old southern railroad towns. Truly enjoyable!
I arrived in Helen and at out rental cabin in late afternoon and my friend Molly was already there waiting on me. We hadn't seen each other since December (and that was just for about a hour or so!) and we hadn't spent time together for good ole fashioned chit chat in far too many years to even recall!

Once we unloaded and unpacked, we quickly settled in on the couches for lots of talking. I think we talked non-stop all weekend. It was AWESOME! As a mommy, the days of sitting and talking to anyone uninterrupted, much less a girlfriend, are just not in my reality. The idea that we could just sit and talk and not have to stop and think about something or someone else was intoxicating. We were having a delirious amount of fun. There was some texting back and forth with her family members and a mutual friend of ours from back home, but other than that - we were able to freely talk, FAR into the night! We went to bed late, but I actually got to sleep until 8:30 AM the next day. I haven't done that in so long - it was truly heavenly.

On Saturday, after taking our time waking up and getting going, we finally made it into the town of Helen and had a wonderful lunch, so much fun shopping for gifts to take back home and found even more time to sit and talk and share thoughts and secrets.

One of the most interesting aspects of our trip, for me, was seeing a place I have known and loved, through the eyes of someone else, who has also known and loved the same place. When I travel there, with my family, there are certain places and restaurants that we just always gravitate to and we seem to follow the same standing itinerary each time we visit. Going there with my friend, I found new restaurants and shops that I hadn't really been to and hopefully, I showed her some new places as well. It was a ton of fun.

Our Saturday night shaped up almost identically to our Friday night. Lots of chatter, some food and snacks, tons of laughter and a movie to top off the night. We tried really hard not to think of the fact that our weekend would be over in a matter of hours... it was just to painful to ponder.

On Sunday, we begrudged the sun as it brought with it the end of our time away, and slowly, ever so slowly, packed our belongings and cars and headed to the checkout. We were able to sneak in a few more shopping stops and a great lunch on the river, before we sadly said our goodbyes and headed home. I don't think there were two more sadder drivers on the roads yesterday.

Getting back home was fun for me - it was so nice that my hubby was glad to see me and then I went to pick up the daughter and the puppy. Needless to say, only the puppy was really happy to see me. I think he actually recognized me -cause he showered me with puppy kisses and he usually just bites me - so I am just going to claim that he knew me and missed me and was happy to see me. The daughter that I love so much, and missed (at least a little bit!!) while I was gone - couldn't have cared less that I had appeared after two days to take her home. I am trying to just assume that she had a marvelous time at her grandparents' and they spoiled her so well that she couldn't bear the thought of leaving them. Otherwise, I will be too sad that she didn't miss me, even a little.

So, my weekend away has ended. Life as I left it started right back up again this morning - loud and strong. Barking puppy, typical three year old daughter antics, hubby home from work and bills needing to be paid.

The weekend is now just a memory - although a very great one - and my friend Molly and I have already exchanged emails and started making plans for same time next year!

Living Happily Ever After,
Beverly