Day 46

Girl's Night Out. Three little words that signify freedom. Freedom from men, from children, from having to watch what we say in case it isn't "ladylike".

We will do anything for it. We had a girl's night at a friends house in December, and it was one of the first (of many) snowstorms we had this winter. I kept waiting for the phonecall that it had been cancelled, but it didn't come. It took me twice as long to get there than usual, and I passed at least 2 cars that had swerved off the road (one into a telephone pole...). I fully expected to be one of the only ones to show up- but lo and behold all but one made it. Damn straight. Who knows when a golden opportunity like that will come around again? There was a lot of laughing about how NOTHING was stopping them from going out that night- several of them even car pooled together.

And it's not like we do anything wild and crazy. Most Girl's Nights at my age involve sitting around some sort of table with alcohol and food that we don't want anyone to know we eat- chips, cheese, brownies, cheesecake, chocolate. These are the staples at least,  sometimes rounded out by a veggie or fruit tray. We talk about kids and husbands, work, and our wild youth. Everyone keeps their clothes on, and minus a one-time showing of Magic Mike at my house there are no naked men involved.

But I can't tell you how priceless it is to be surrounded by women who you may not have even met until that night, but you can instantly relate to. You can ask and give advice- whether it's about your kids or work or even sex. Yes guys, we do talk about sex. We probably talk about it more than you do. We definately talk about it in more detail than you. I know- I worked in a firehouse for 5 years. You wouldn't last 15 minutes with us.

Tonight I got an impromptu invite to a Girl's Night Out with a couple of friends. I couldn't get my boots on fast enough. I didn't even mess with my hair or freshen my makeup- margaritas don't care what your hair looks like. Upon arriving, I realized that there were a lot of women there that I hadn't met before. I was a little nervous at first, but 15 minutes and half of a margarita later, we were all best friends. As we left the restaurant, there was singing and hugging, and even a little dancing that got us some applause from a stranger. I smiled all the way home, and my face still hurts from laughing almost constantly for the last couple of hours.

Today's picture represents the power of female bonding. Thank goodness for girlfriends and margarita glasses :).