It has been ages since I last visited our friends on North Haven island. So long that I swear I only remember wrangling two young toddler boys on that ferry ride. I've been so looking forward to returning to that special place for a while now, and am happy to say I did just that these past few days. But what made this trip extra special was the company I shared this time around. There were no toddlers to carry, and no work to think about, for this trip was a trip with dear girlfriends. My first, I must confess, since becoming a mother. That's right - fourteen years. We have always made a great effort in our marriage and in our family for time alone with friends, and I certainly am spoiled (and blessed) in that time away that we take for a night out here and there with our friends. But so many things can so easily get in the way of a multi-day trip. Breastfeeding, budget, schedules, logistics. And before you know it, while shuffling little ones to (and hosting) kid sleepovers every weekend...you can't even remember the last time you had a sleepover with your own girlfriends.
A multi-day slumber party - that's just the thing this Mama needed and it was everything I could have hoped for - a whole lot of eating, drinking, knitting, reading, sitting, and laughing. Doing nothing, and everything at the same time. And done around some of the most lovely of extended friends in one of the most beautiful places in Maine (I dare say). Our time was spent bouncing around between the lovely Nebo Lodge, the super fun Calderwood Hall, and the incredible Turner Farm.
On the drive home, we talked about our take-aways from the weekend. Such as, I'm totally inspired to recreate the built-in linen closet of my dreams that I saw in the halls of Nebo, and I think my rock walls need some prettying up like the ones I saw at Turner Farm, and I want to plant some quick-fire hydrangea, and I'm switching SmartWool long johns. You know, the important stuff that can only be discovered by spending time with the ladies you love. But more important than the linen storage (which is very important, you know) is my biggest takeaway of all. I love my friends, and I vow that it will not be another fourteen years before my next sleepover. In fact, I'd say I've got some time to make up which might be done by a girls weekend once a season for a few years. Yes, yes...that sounds just right.
