You hear the hype about GNO everywhere. Girls’ Night OUT, y’all! Woohoo! Dinner at a cute place! Yummy pink drinks! No kids! Dancing or singing karaoke! Dusting off the few remaining “I’m not THAT old” clothes in your closet. Heels? Maybe…
Recently, my book club planned a girls’ night IN. Y’all, we had a slumber party, and it was amazing. Seven of us headed out of town to spend the night at our friend’s cabin. The dress code was “yoga pants required.” We each brought food, sweets, drinks (lots of drinks), and it was like the slumber party you’d hoped to have as a kid except that all the girl drama got in the way. With alcohol.
In addition to eating and drinking ourselves silly, we talked, discussed this month’s book, stalked old boyfriends and our husbands’ old girlfriends on Facebook, played Adult Charades (a hilariously dirty app for smartphones), sang karaoke (the cabin has in-house karaoke, so when in Rome…), told funny stories, told sad stories, and danced like crazy in our pajamas. I know that last part sounds like a movie stereotype of slumber parties, but it totally happened.
Sometimes motherhood…working, staying at home, driving our kids to 3,000 practices per week, and whatever else we do…makes it harder for us to nurture our relationships with our women friends. Girls’ nights are important, but women often miss the point when we’re out in our cutest clothes shouting to be heard over the crowded place we’re in. Don’t get me wrong, I love the “glory days night out” when I’m dressed up in clothes that I never get to wear and hanging with my friends in fun places. I’ve had many amazing nights that way.
But there’s something to be said for being in one place, hanging in your yoga pants, eating good food, drinking good drinks, not feeling like you have to impress anyone, and not having to go home only to have your hangover greeted at 6am by toddlers.
For that weekend, for that one night, you can just do you, be you, in an easy, comfortable space with your friends and your wine and your comfy clothes. You don’t have to take care of anyone but yourself. You can admit your struggles in parenting or marriage or family or work, and you’re safe.
Women need the night IN together. Our relationships with our friends sometimes suffer as we get older and our kids get busier. We lose touch if we don’t make time for each other, and while I love to hang out in restaurants with my buddies, the real fun happened when we left our cutest clothes hanging in the closet and went with the “yoga pants required” slumber party.
Leave a Reply