Eight years ago my daughters and I started a new tradition. On the year that one of us has a significant birthday, we go away together on a two-night get-away. We leave our families behind and head off to enjoy “girl time.” It has turned into such a wonderful memory-making event! Over the years we’ve been to Boone, Lake Keowee, Pigeon Forge, and Greenville, SC.
This year we were celebrating my youngest daughter, Alli’s birthday and we generally let the one we’re honoring make the choice as to where we should go. She suggested we return to Boone, NC. It’s a mountain town with lots of really good restaurants, mountain views, and shopping. Perfection!
Our husbands always make loading those carts onto the elevators look so easy. Don’t ask how we did!
We’ve stayed in lots of different kind of places over the years – Air bnb’s, and Wyndham. This time we opted for a hotel. We loved this because breakfast was provided. We felt safe. They came in and refreshed our room for us. We had plenty of space with a two bedroom suite. There was a pool to enjoy.
If you know anything about my daughter, Whitney, you know she loves home. She came prepared to make our hotel room the most comfy home-away-from-home you could imagine! From a soft lamp for the bathroom, rugs for the sinks and shower, wooden TV trays, bottles of water, plastic cups with lids for the water, beautiful paper goods for the birthday party, blankets, and a delicious salad for our lunch, she had it all! It was so well organized and lovely!
I made a little individual birthday cake for each of us to enjoy over the couple days we were there.
We did quite a bit of shopping and we were each successful in finding particular things we were looking for! We shop well together, giving opinions and suggestions to one another. 🩷
We ate at some really great restaurants. Storie Street Grill (soooo good!), Melanie’s (a great brunch place), and Longhorn (for a quiet vibe after our busy shopping day!)
Aside from shopping and eating, we enjoyed just hanging out together. One evening, we played Skip-Bo. We chatted about The Bible Recap, what we’re learning, how things are going in each of our lives, and how we can pray for one another.
Before we checked out, we had a time of prayer together, each of us praying for one another. What a rich blessing all three days were. It would be easy to say we’re too busy to get together, or to say we can’t afford it, but in reality, can we afford not to? If we want to stay connected with one another, it’s crucial that we spend time together listening, caring, praying and loving.
If this is a desire in your heart, I’d encourage you to pray about it. Approach your daughters with a gentle spirit that asks, rather than demands. When you’re together, be on the giving end. Be generous with listening and stingy with your words. Encourage. Uplift. Love.
When the time together is over, someone will be a year older, but your relationship will also have grown. It even makes those birthdays with 5’s and 0’s sting a little less! 💕
RefreshHer 