A few months ago Krista sent out an e-mail to our A-Town crew of mamas wondering if we were interested in planning a weekend away in the coming weeks. We all compared our calendars and set, which seemed at the time, like a very far-away date for the last weekend in April and happily went about our business. We’d all committed to two nights away from our kids, leaving our dudes (or grandparents in KVD’s case) in charge of our babies.
I’m so glad that Krista sent the e-mail and at the time I felt like two nights seemed excessive and overly indulgent, but by the time Sunday rolled around, it seemed like we’d all just arrived and nobody was ready to rush away from our retreat. Plus, the sun started to shine those last few hours, so we shed a few layers, rolled up our pants and Circle Talked, our newly coined term, for another few hours.
But really, that’s getting ahead of the whole weekend. Lara’s godmother, Marji, graciously allowed us to stay in her family’s cabin on Guemes Island for the weekend and nobody could have dreamed of a better location for our getaway. All of us have memories of Guemes from our younger years (we’re old enough to have younger years now? I guess so…) but none of all of us together, and certainly none of us in such similar places in our lives.
If Sunday brought the need to toss aside our shoes and soak in the sun rays, Friday was all about excitement and anticipation. Nicole came onto the island a bit later that night and that meant that Krista, Erin and I crammed into Lara’s car with all our luggage and some food, after meeting up at the ferry dock on the Anacortes side. Even if we wanted to get out to enjoy the 7 minute ferry ride, we would have had to spend 6 of the 7 minutes packing and re-packing all our stuff. We were practically giddy with excitement for the coming days.
While we waited for Cole’s ferry to dock, Krista, Lara, Erin and I found ourselves standing in a circle just jabbering away, almost talking over one another, but not really. I believe this is when we coined the term Circle Talk.
We Circle Talked at the cabin, which happened to fit our every need, until 2 o’clock in the morning. 2 o’clock, people!!! Do you know when the last time that some of us saw 2 o’clock was? It was glorious to have uninterrupted conversation with other women, other mothers, other friends. We probably could have Circle Talked until much later, but we knew we had Saturday night and there was no need to Circle Talk ourselves into oblivion. Right?
So, Sunday brought calmness and Friday brought excitement, then Saturday most certainly was the day in which balance seemed to fall in. Everybody woke on their own schedule and some sipped tea, coffee or simply water. As I stepped outside, directly onto the beach from our front door practically (!), I looked one way and could see my girlfriends down the beach and looked the other way and saw an empty beach.
I chose to walk on the empty beach by myself, a choice that I don’t usually get to make. At first I almost wanted to strain my ears to hear what my friends were saying and I called Barry to check in and even sent a few texts. Then I put my phone away and sipped my tea while I listened to the crunch of the rocks below my feet. It felt SO strange to be utterly alone.
I walked and walked and snapped a few pictures here and there, trying to ‘relax’ and take it all in, but after a while I just wanted to be with my friends and see if they were Circle Talking again. So I headed back and arrived to find everybody sitting around the table eating breakfast and…..Circle Talking. Happiness for us = talking it up. We Circle Talked about our plans for the day, our kid, husbands, lunch, babies, pregnancy, and finally got our butts in gear and headed out the door to hike to the top of Guemes Mountain….if Nicole could just remember where the trail head was.
Nicole did remember and we made our way to the ‘top,’ which was a glorified lookout to Anacortes. (Side note: I have never loved getting lost so much….getting ‘lost’ with a group of friends vs. a pissed off toddler is way better. We were able to back up, turn around and all hold a conversation without worry of tears or puke. If that isn’t incredible, what is? Plus, Erin told us, in her Mama’s Weekend Away Manifesto, that there’d be NO TEARS and NO COMPLAINTS!)
At the top of the mountain, after we realized that we were freakin’ Circle Talking AGAIN, we spread out and roamed around a bit. Erin started trying to do a handstand, which she did, and I tried to capture it with my camera. You should know a few things about this:
1. Erin doing a handstand spread like a wild fire through our group and we all wanted to try it.
2. I should not have tried because I’ve never been one to….well, do hand stands. Or cartwheels.
3. The pictures (some of them) are too good not to share and I’ve included them below. If you wonder why there isn’t a Mama’s Weekend Away blog post next year, those pictures are probably why.
After we rolled around, some of us literally, laughing at our attempts to do handstands we headed to Anderson’s for lunch and back to the cabin where we all proceeded to read or take naps. By the time the house started to stir with noise again, we were ready to boogie down the beach while sipping on warm drinks to fight the wind. (And this, my friends, is where some of us (who shall remain nameless) may or may not have had a mug wash out to sea…)
In all the Circle Talking that went on, I realized how much listening we were all doing as well. We were all asking great questions and truly listening to whomever was talking. As great as being away was, it really was the flow of the conversation that we all needed so dearly. Yes, we see each other at play dates, send e-mails and write letters, but that really doesn’t compare to sitting down and talking uninterrupted. To me, it speaks volumes that both nights we stayed up until 2 a.m. just talking, telling stories, laughing, and conversing about our lives. We all wanted to be heard and Circle Talking gave us that outlet.
I can’t elaborate much more on The First Annual Mama’s Weekend Away, except to say that I could not have asked for a better weekend away with other mothers. Before I left home, Barry and I were talking about me being gone for the weekend, and I realized that even a year ago this wouldn’t have been an option. I was still breastfeeding and Maggie was a bit snooty-pants about sleep, our house was a very exhausted place. Now, a whole year later, I’m no longer breastfeeding and Maggie isn’t as particular about sleep.
So, when Krista sent out that e-mail a few months ago, I answered that of course I’d like to go on a weekend away. I had no idea it’d revitalize a part of my soul – you know, the part that can only be repaired with Circle Talking x a Million, staying up until 2 o’clock in the morning eating discounted Easter candy, long beach walks, and attempts to do handstands on top of a mountain with your girlfriends from A-Town.
AND NOW FOR THE PICTURES THAT WE’LL PROBABLY BE THE ONLY ONES TO LAUGH AT….CIRCLE UP, LADIES!!!
