Girfriends and What I don't Miss About My Early 20's

Being an only girl in the family of boy siblings, it feels like girl time is few and far between. Which is why I'm always eager to attend our regular girls night each month. 

I am so blessed, at the age of 30, to have a group of women I've known since high school, who still make an effort to get together regularly. This past Saturday we went out to celebrate two of my girlfriends 30th birthdays. It's the year of 30 for all of the gals in the group.

We went to a very nice place, which had excellent food and a jazzy sax player in the bar. It seems like some of us, I included, were eager to let loose and reenact some of our early 20's. We found ourselves in an Irish pub bar located in the town we grew up in After sitting down and ordering drinks, it was clear to us that this was a college bar and were no longer in college. It even included those shot girls, who circled the bar with a tray full of neon test tubes, traveling to every table.

The whole experience just made us feel aged and we realized we were no longer the young early 20 something’s we used to be and that's okay. And while our lives are more comparable to the late Sex and the City story line, we realize that we still have some good times ahead.

"Girlfriends are not about being inseparable, it's about being separated for however long and nothing changes!" - 3 Wittle Birds

What do 30 something married women do for entertainment? My girlfriends and I manage to have at least one dinner night a month. It seems few and far between but it's more realistic this day and age. On occasion, we enlist the hubbies in on the fun game night. You would be amazed how competitive this evening ends up! On the recent evening of our latest girls night, we managed, after all these years of trying to plan a vacation, scheduled a weekend getaway to Lake Geneva. It's sort of like the East Coasters and their weekends in the Hampton Islands.

What I don't miss about my early 20's

1. Lacking self confidence in my body image
2. Roommate drama - I've had some amazing roommates who were from Australia and we all seemed to get along. I've also had some very stressful situations of bad judgment that have led to calling the cops at 2 am.... Let's just say, been there and I'm done with that.
3. Having a hangover every weekend - It's seems that when you are in your early 20's, a relaxed Friday or Saturday night doesn't exist when you are single and the fear of not have anything to do is frustrating.
4. The bar and club scene - Those drunken girls in the bathrooms (who didn't quite make it to the toilet), and the creepy drunk guys at the bar that mistaken a kind "no" for bitchiness.
5. Dating - Don't get me wrong, the beginning stages of dating are both exhilarating and nerve wracking but I don't miss that roller coaster.
6. Frienemies and acquaintances - It feels like you have a  ton of friends at this age but that are all too quick to back stab or throw you under the bus. Over the years, through marriages and the big leap to children, acquaintances fall off and you find out who your true friends are. The ones that you may not talk to all the time, but you have no problem picking up where you left off.
7. Thinking I knew it all - I felt like I had it all figured out and I knew who I was. Turns out, not true.... shocking! But really, I have come to the closure that I don't think I will every have it all figured out and I don't want to ever shut myself out of continuous improvement.

For a final note: Here is a funny picture I found while perusing on Pinterest. Enjoy!