Time to Let Loose...

Last week, I got together with my best friend. We were both feeling over-stressed and we needed a break. She celebrated a milestone birthday a few months ago, and my birthday is in a few weeks. We decided we needed to celebrate. I now have this part-time job, but was a stay-at-home mom for 10 years prior. She has been a stay-at-home mom for 12 years now. After a little discussion, a plan was made. We were going on a girls night out, in Omaha. First things first, babysitters. Harvest has started and if you are a farm wife and want to get away, you find someone to watch your kids while you will be gone. Especially if you are going on an overnight trip. We both managed to get that arranged, even though we had only one week of planning time. We already knew no husbands, and no kids and we added no schedule. Time to wing it, get out our best clothes, do the hair and makeup, and go. Of course, when you go to Omaha, you also have to do a little shopping. We both needed a purse. We didn't want to lug around the piece of luggage we refer to as purses, which also happen to weigh a minimum of 30 pounds. I also wanted a cute pair of heels to wear that night. We found what we needed and headed to the hotel. We lucked out because our hotel had a shuttle. They pick you up in front of the hotel and drop you off right in front of where you are going. The same goes for the end of the night. You call, they pick you up right out front of wherever you are, and take you back to the hotel. Dinner was our first destination; we went to Upstream. The food there is so delicious. As we were leaving Upstream, to go explore, I happened to run into some friends I hadn't seen in a while. We had a little catch up session and we were off again. As I said earlier, I wanted heels to wear that night. I do not usually wear heels; I am also not the most coordinated person out there. We start off on our tour of downtown walking on the cobblestone street. Three steps in and one of my heels gets caught in-between the bricks and I stumble. We laugh and continue on. Three more steps and my shoe catches in my pant leg (which was wide and flow) and I trip over myself. We decide it might be best to walk on the sidewalk instead of the cobblestone. We take off again down the sidewalk to explore, when I happen to step on the one piece of sidewalk that is cracked and uneven, stumbling forward again. I catch myself on a railing and we stop there for a few minutes to laugh at me. This is just after eating dinner, mind you; I had no excuse for my inability to walk. We made our way around the Old Market of Omaha, making stops here and there when we felt like it. We met lots of new people. Stopped to hand out with some couples (we didn't know) here and there. We had a great time. It had been years since either one of us had a night out like this. Everyone should let their hair down and lose their schedule for a few hours every now and then. Would we do it all again? Yes, with a few modifications. I'm not going to lie, there were plenty of times we felt old. As you get older, kids in their early 20's look like, kids. It also turns out we wake up at 6:30 every morning, no matter what. All in all, we had fun. As for what else went on while we were out, that's our secret. We can't wait to go enjoy some carefree time again. It may just be at a coffee bar next time.