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Better'n Therapy

I am convinced that getting away with good women friends from time to time is essential to our health and well-being as women. Living in a mostly male household (except for our Airedale, Lucy), I was way overdue for such an excursion when, recently, I and a group of friends rented a small house on the beach on a not-too-distant island.

The Friday morning we were due to leave, I could hardly wait to get my son on the school bus and my bags in the car before picking up the friend I was driving with. As we waited for the bus, my son asked, "Why do you have to go this weekend, Mom?" I explained that I didn't have to go; I actually wanted to go because I enjoyed spending time with friends just as he does. "Besides," I added, "I'll be a much nicer mom when I get back." He nodded. That he could live with.

It's difficult to explain just why spending uninterrupted time with your best pals is so healing. Sure, when you remove the countless demands of work and family, you're already headed down the path toward complete relaxation. But when you add long evenings revealing hopes and disappointments, sharing struggles and victories — with women who understand and relate to you, who love and encourage you without judgment … well, there's no better medicine than that.

I often think that my mother would have been happier and more peaceful in her mind with that kind of support, rather than letting work and family absorb all of her energy. I do think we women have gotten much better at caring for ourselves, at taking the time to refresh our bodies and spirits so that we emerge more loving and wholesome human beings.

And if our husbands and partners can allow us a gradual transition back to reality, so much the better. I was immensely grateful to my husband for facilitating my own smooth reentry. He cooked dinner and did the dishes the evening I returned from my weekend away. I guess he felt it was a small price to pay for a very mellow wife.

Here in the Northwest, we're blessed with plenty of places to go with friends, whether we're after a natural, retreat-like experience or a pampering, indulgent time-out. In this issue, Shelley Arenas and Sharon Hazzard cover some of the options. I hope they inspire you to make your own getaway.

Best,

Karen Reed-Matthee
Editor

©April 2008 Caliope Publishing Company