Girls’ Trip

Dear Reader,

Later today, I am heading out of town for a first. I could call it a girls’ trip, but I’ve taken those before, so that’s not the new part. This trip will be different from the ones where my friends and I ran around doing things together. This time, my friend and I are going to a cabin for four days, and we have no plans to do anything other than be there.

We’ve been calling it a reading retreat, but along with books, I’ve packed journals and notebooks and art supplies. It certainly won’t be all reading. A more accurate name than either girls’ trip or reading retreat would be something like, “we’re disappearing and no one is allowed to need anything from us–even our attention–for the next four days.” But that’s unwieldy. Girls’ trip it is.

I feel like I should say women’s trip rather than girls’, but that’s not the common phrase. In this case, I can’t be too mad about it, because it’s the same for the men–they “get together with the boys.” I suppose the assumption is that when we gather with our own gender, away from the expectations created in mixed company, we revert to our childhood selves. Maybe that’s true. The best part of childhood, after all, was having no responsibilities. That’s what my friend and I are most looking forward to this week. We won’t have to do anything other than indulge in our own thoughts and dreams. I’ve packed coloring books, for God’s sake. This week, we will be girls again.

When I actually was a girl, my favorite thing to do was to lie on my bed and imagine. It didn’t matter what I imagined; just letting my mind run free was the point. There’s not much time to do that as an adult. Too many voices and crises and responsibilities clamor for my time and attention. But for the next four days, there will be none of that. I may sit on the couch with a book in my lap, but I wouldn’t be surprised to discover I don’t do a whole lot of actual reading. I suspect my mind will soar beyond the clouds and far away. What will I imagine? It doesn’t really matter. The time and space to think without interruption will return me to my childhood self in the best possible way. Hopefully, I’ll be able to bring a bit of that feeling home with me when the trip is over.

So yes, I guess I will embrace the title of girls’ trip. There’s nothing wrong being being a girl for a while. The girl who lives inside this woman still has dreams to dream. I would do well to let her fly free.

Love, Melissa