arriving at the house and claiming our rooms (we could each have our own room!), and everyone forcing me to have one of the rooms downstairs because something about how the last time we were in Orlando and I fell down the stairs and nearly broke a toe? see also: multiple broken ankles.
sharing a deviled egg sandwich and an inside-out quesadilla with Bri during Friday night dinner.
spending about 20 minutes at dinner scrolling through our various medical apps to compare bloodwork results because we’re all midlife ladies.
singing our hearts out to Avril Lavigne on our way to ice cream after dinner. not a single one of us was in tune, but we had a lot of enthusiasm.
amber, when someone asked if we weren’t going to get dessert at the restaurant, “But I really want Twistee Treat!” (she got her Twistee Treat, don’t you worry)
a nighttime dip in the pool where we floated and chatted and laughed while listening to music
coming in from the pool, putting on my pj’s, and going upstairs to the comfy couch to read my book – two friends joined me before the rest of the crew arrived, wherein we opted for chit-chatting over reading
waking up to fresh bagels thanks to Bri (who else?), and enjoying a delicious asiago everything bagel and iced coffee
playing my NYT games next to Lynn, who is one-fourth of our book club Wordle/Connections group chat, so it was fun to play with her in real time!
amber making the executive decision that we would drive over to the clubhouse pool rather than walking (a fantastic decision, especially when we were done at the pool because it was HOT).
a morning spent at the clubhouse pool with some of the book club crew (our other two friends have young children and opted to starfish in their beds for as long as possible, enjoying the uninterrupted sleep and quiet house) – we were mostly there for the lazy river, which was exceptional, especially in the morning before any children were at the pool.
a mango swirl by the pool (mango swirl = mango daiquiri + pina colada) while reading my book
eating so. much. watermelon. after coming back from the clubhouse pool
being the MOST book club by floating in the pool at our place while reading our books – this was the peak experience for me this weekend
all of us having our own introvert time (yes, even the extroverts!) in the late afternoon, everyone going to their separate rooms to read, nap, play on their phones, etc. (I took a wonderful nap myself.)
a lovely conversation with the whole group about motherhood and guilt and anxiety and therapy.
a catered dinner to celebrate 16 years of book club! (October will be my 14th year!) we reminisced about book club memories during dinner, including how we all found the book club. (most of us found the book club on meet-up when it was called the “young women’s book club” and for women 21-35. all but one member has now effectively aged out of the original book club! eeps.)
playing a few games that made us hysterical before retiring to the couches to chit-chat. (I was soooo tired at this point, so I don’t think I did much more than listen.)
leaving a wonderful weekend away with a full heart and more core memories made with these beautiful souls.
***
I had no idea that I would find the people who would be my ride-or-dies throughout my 20s and 30s by joining this book club, but I took a leap of faith when I was scared out of my mind, and it worked out. Not every leap of faith works out, but this one did more than anything else in my life. This is more than a book club. We’ve been with each other through weddings and divorces and babies and cancer and losing homes from hurricanes and pets dying and new jobs and new relationships and so many books. One of our members moved away for a decade, and when she came back, she slotted right in as if she’d never left. We call ourselves a book club, but what we really are is family.
This sounds like an epic weekend with an epic squad! And I got to go along vicariously through this post!
Now we just need to do a retreat with our Connections group.
YES PLEASE. I am down for a fun bloggers weekend! It would be such a great time!
What a wonderful found family you have there! I’m so happy for you, this all sounds marvelous.
Thank you! Sometimes I have to pinch myself. 🙂
Oh, I didn’t know your book club origin was Meetup. That’s such an awesome success story for them – have you ever considered telling them how awesome your group ended up being?
We haven’t done that, no. I can bring it up to our book club leader!
Oh Stephanie, this is so great!!!!!! Those ladies are truly so special. And what a great weekend. So balanced. A balance of social and quiet time is my absolute favorite.
Yes, a good balance is KEY. Too much of either puts me in a grumpy mood, lol.
I love this so much! It can be so hard to find “your people” but I am so glad your leap of faith worked out and brought these amazing ladies into your life! My book club is turning 12 this fall, I think! The members have really ebbed and flowed over the last 12 years and at one point, I thought the club might be coming to an end… but then some new members joined and breathed new life into the club and we are stronger than ever! We have yet to go on a girls trip, though, but some of us have young kids and it’s hard for me to get away with all my work travel. But someday I hope to go on a trip with them!
This was our first girls’ trip with EVERYONE since 2018! So it’s been a while between Covid and babies and work travel. It’s a bit easier when we’re just going away for two nights, especially for our friends with young kids. I wish it were longer, but it’s understandable!
Oh, this is so wonderful, Stephany. I am profoundly happy and equally jealous of this wonderful group of women that surrounds you.
Now, if only all the Cool Bloggers could get away somewhere together, I’d be so happy 🙂
Say the word and I am ready to organize a Cool Bloggers trip!
Oh wow, what a beautiful weekend, what a beautiful group. This warms my heart so much!
Thank you, friend! I feel so blessed. <3
Wow! This looks like such a wonderful get-together! I especially love that you were all reading and floating in the pool. I am just beaming with delight that you have this group in your life!
Thank you, Michelle! Floating in the pool while reading our books was a PEAK experience for me!
Oh gosh, this post gave me all the warm fuzzies to read. What amazing memories and connections you’ve made. I love this so much for you.
Thank you! I feel so lucky to have such a great group of girlfriends by my side.
What an awesome trip! I am so jealous of your book club – I tried 2 book clubs this year and they were all comprised of members in early 20s. They were so lovely but at 37, wasnt a fit!
Ugh, I’m sorry Cait! I feel so lucky to have found this group when I did! It would be really hard now.
This is so, so awesome. The whole weekend sounds incredible. I want to read a book while floating in the pool!!! And I love how you talk about your book club. I had no idea it’s been going for all these years. I kind of thought you guys were already friends, and decided to start a book club together. But no! You were all random strangers, and now look how close you are. That’s incredible.
I know – isn’t it crazy? We are definitely a book club success story! Strangers who joined a group because they loved books… and became best friends! I’m very lucky. <3
How wonderful! I made a few good friends off of Meetup book clubs as well but this is entirely next level.
And what a great weekend!
We have truly taken things to the next level with this book club – that’s for sure!
Ahh, reading this is putting the biggest smile on my face! I love that your weekend away was so fulfilling, and I looooooooooove that you have this group of women. It’s so special and makes me so happy for you all! And this weekend just sounds amazing! Floating and reading and yummy food and drinks and laughs and our own rooms and downtime to boot? Yes, please!
Thank you so much, friend! It was such a rejuvenating time for all of us. <3
What wonderful weekend! What is your book club’s origin story? aka how did you all get together as a book club 🙂
Our book club was originally on Meet-Up, which is how most of us found it! So we’re all strangers to each other who randomly joined a “young woman’s” book club in our twenties, and formed lifelong friendships from it!