Sometimes a mama just needs a night away.

I think every mama can agree that as much as we love our kids/husbands/families, we can all use some time away....time to take off the wife and mommy hat, and replace it with the friend hat.  I did just that a few weeks ago when my BFF and I went on our yearly sanity saver girls weekend.  In previous years (including last year), we've gone to NYC, usually in January or February.  With my birthday falling in December and hers in January, this was always a good plan.  This year we decided to change it up and try out Deep Creek, Maryland in the spring instead...and we're so glad we did! (especially after the winter we just endured, who knows if we would have even made it into NY in January??)

Here's what we concluded: in NY, we felt this pressure to go go go.  It was the pace of the city, and just the fact that we felt like we were dishing out money to be there, we'd better take advantage of it.  But in Deep Creek?  There wasn't much to do, and that was part of the appeal of it for us!!  Don't get me wrong, there was plenty to do if you were interested, especially in outdoor activities (and we might have done more had we been there with the hubbies and in the summer) but as it was, we felt zero pressure and we LOVED it.  This was our view off the patio of our room; what's not to love?

Our activities consisted of: manicures, lunch, hours spent talking and catching up while enjoying a gorgeous view of the lake, more talking, wine, dinner, more talking, night out at a bar watching a cover band, sleeping in, coffee, breakfast, shopping, talking. 

Perfection. 

My advice to all fellow mamas: take that time to get away!!  As you can see, it doesn't have to be anything fancy to be great.  It doesn't have to be a huge time commitment....it doesn't even need to be an overnight.  But find something, anything, that enables to you remove your other hats for a brief period of time, and connect with your friends.  I promise, you'll come back feeling refreshed and happy.