Friends, “friends” and FRIENDS!!!

I am lucky. I have six Very Good Friends and have known them en masse for over 20 years. Two of them I have known for over 30, since Year 8. These fabulous women are not just my friends, they are my FRIENDS!!

Last year we decided we needed a weekend away together. This year, we decided we needed another. Because, while we still manage to organise ourselves to meet every couple of months, that just wasn’t enough. Because we were missing things in each other’s lives. Because our own lives were so busy. Because we needed to!

So, we went away.

And we talked.

We talked about our families, we talked about our children. We talked about mothering, home management, food, recipes, time-saving strategies, husbands, marriage, friends, fears, schools, other mothers, books, news, extended families. We also talked about 'paid work'; the paid work which was ours, that we wanted, that some needed, and the reasons for that need. We talked about whether it was ‘worth it’; is there enough balance? No balance? Two of my friends decided to quit their paid work because there wasn’t any balance anymore. And we decided that, whoever is responsible for the saying was right – that you can have everything; you just can’t have it all at the same time!* And then we ate a LOT OF CHOCOLATE!

And we also recognised and acknowledged how lucky we were that we had the support around us, whether other friends, family or husbands, who helped to look after our families while we were away looking after ourselves. Thank you!

And then we went to lunch** and, funnily enough, talked some more!

Sam xx

* Was it Oprah who said that?!

**We had a fantastic lunch at the Aravina Estate, Yallingup - the photo above is the view from our table on the verandah. Yum!