Gatlinburg Girls Gone Wild

Okay...so it wasn't exactly "Girls Gone Wild." Not even remotely. But it did turn out to be a wonderful gift to ourselves.

Last weekend, six friends who'd known each other for 30+ years set out to enjoy a Girls Weekend together. One came from Los Angeles, one from Knoxville, and four from Dayton...and they all trekked to a beautiful cabin in the Great Smokey Mountains.

People always talk about doing such things. But too few people actually DO it. I know I would've just continued to talk about "how fun that would be," if not for our kickass, organized friend Kathy—who made it happen. About four days after we first discussed it, Kathy sent us links to various cabins and prices. I'm proud of us all for saying yes and following through.

It was easy. And it was so, so FUN. And it was an important reminder of how much good friends feed our spirits and how inspiring it is to keep those connections strong.

We laughed so much, even on the road trip. One of my favorite moments was when I banged on a rest stop stall door thinking one of my friends was still inside, saying, "Hurry up! We need more pictures!"...only to discover it was a total, terrified stranger. We apologized (and the woman had a great sense of humor, thank goodness), but outside we were laughing so hard another stranger said, "I don't know where you ladies are heading, but if you're having this much fun HERE, I don't think it matters!"

Amen to that.

We talked, we ate, we had a religious experience involving a divine concoction known as bleu cheese grits, we hiked the Rainbow Falls

Trail (even eating smoked salmon and Melba toast as a picnic—how civilized is that?), we ate, we talked, we consumed copious amounts of coffee, we laughed until our ribs ached.

Our "wild" weekend translated to: in our jammies by 10 PM each night, falling asleep on couches, running out of coffee but re-packing many un-opened bottles of wine to take home, the police actually making some arrests in our cabin compound...but not of any of us. My oh my, how times have changed...but for the better!

My wish for you is that if there are friends you've known for decades that you'd love to spend a weekend with—make it happen! Consider it your holiday gift to yourself. People and memories are worth so much more than anything that needs a gift bag, anyway!