Do you know how important it is to have girl time?
Whether it’s dinner out or a weekend trip, girl time is imperative. It’s really one of the most
rejuvenating things you’ll ever experience.
Seriously.
Into our 12th year, I recently got away with some girl friends to a mountain cabin. We have a ‘cabin getaway’ twice a year and it’s fabulous. Check out my last cabin post here. We’ve been friends for 15+ years but A & I were separated last year when J moved to Georgia. Getting together is always exhilerating and full of laughs, but it’s also a time to relax and reconnect. The three of us are in different seasons of life with families and careers, so we don’t get to talk as much as we used to.
Several years ago, a psychiatrist at Stanford University gave the following insight during one of his lectures: “One of the best things that a man can do for his health is to be married to a woman, whereas, for a woman, one of the best things she can do for her health is to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends.”
He said that ‘girlfriend time’ helps to create more serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well-being. We, as women, share our feelings but men often form relationships around activities, such as jobs or sports.
Over 12 years, A, J, and I have created plenty of serotonin. It starts long before the day we arrive, though. It starts weeks before, when we start planning what we’re going to do and talk about once we get there. Staying in our pajamas for most of the weekend, we never leave the cabin. From endless talks on the back porch to cooking and sharing meals together while we watch our favorite movies to watching The Golden Girls together in separate bedrooms as we fall asleep, our girl time last for three glorious worry free days.
I am ALWAYS rejuvenated and ready to get back to my normal daily tasks when I get home. Then, after a few months, there’s a familiar tickling up our spines and we start planning another weekend away. 
By keeping in touch and connecting emotionally with your girlfriends often, you’ll enhance your health, their health, and ultimately your relationships. You’ll be providing a mutual support system to help each other deal with stress and difficulties in each others lives.
The physical benefits of spending quality time with our girlfriends is just as beneficial to our general health as regular exercise.
Let us know what you do with your girlfriends!!!