Michael and I have always been fine with the other going out with friends. That didn't change once we had kids. He doesn't give me guilt trips or pout and mope when I go out with friends, and I don't force him to attend family dinner first or stay home until the kids are in bed before going out. (Yes, those are all things people we know in real life do.) Neither of us goes out all that often, and we know that it is good to get away and spend time with our friends.
It is especially important for me now that I am a stay at home mom. In general I just need to get out of the house, but I also need that time to learn from others and be built up and encouraged as I walk through this phase of life.
There are weeks at a time where I don't really go out at all. When I do go out, I try to be as helpful and considerate to Michael if possible. If I can get Logan to bed first, then I do (because he can be a challenge for Michael). I also try to spread out the times that I go out. However, this last week it all just seemed to happen at once. Partly due to vacation schedules and rescheduled dinners and a friend who needed to have a good talk. I ended up having THREE girls nights!
This group of girls was up first. These are all ladies that worked with me at the Christian school. The only one who is still there is Amanda, and she's not even a teacher. She's the nurse. But all these years later they still mean so much to me. We are in different stages in life. We range from having no children to having a 21 year old and all the stages in between. Our duties at the school were almost as diverse. Even still, we had such a great time catching up. We laughed until it hurt, tried to solve each persons current "problems", and rehashed some old memories. These are the same group of girls that did the half marathon together. They speak into my life and are just so real and down to earth. They are all so giving, and I am blessed to call them my friends.
The very next night I went to sushi with my friend Stacy. Yum! I only took a picture of the food, but the company was just as nice. I met Stacy years ago while I was teaching and she was a nanny. We worked out together. Eventually we had play dates together and she taught me the ropes of being a nanny. She is a great listener and a good sounding board. It was nice to just chat it up.
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Clearly my picture taking got worse as the week went on since this is a stock picture. Ha ha! But on Saturday I met with my best friend from High School. I meant to take a picture, but it didn't happen. Anyway, I mentioned before that she lives about an hour and a half away. She came to town just to hang with me. We went to dinner, did a little shopping, and then sat and had yummy dessert. She is one of those friends where we can not talk for a long time, but then pick up right where we left off. I feel comfortable telling her almost anything, and I know she is going to have great advice. She is a down to earth and grounded in her faith kind of girl.
It is so good to get recharged with great friends. I probably won't be having 3 girls nights in one week again any time soon. But I look forward to the next time we all get to hang out.
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