Girls Night - 2007

7.7.07


You know the feeling, when you're sitting there talking with you girl friends, and you think to yourself that you could probably figure out the world by the time you get up from that circle? That, my friends, is exactly why God invented girls' night. It's a chance to regroup, rehash, and reconnect. It's a chance to laugh and be yourself, and maybe even do something a little crazy. And for years to come, the memories will continue to crack you up all over again.

Even as we age, even as we reach the upper twenties and the damn-near- thirties, the Girls Night is a quintessential prerequisite in our lives as girls- or dare I say, women. Yes we're adult girls now, but that doesn't mean we don't enjoy a playfully dirty game of truth or dare every once in a while.

The great thing about girls' night is that it is always unpredictable. You know, I always think to myself that things just happen to work out – that if you lack something, it will be provided to you. Not only is this true of having the kind of friends that truly mean something to you, but it's true in the sense that if you plan something simple, chances are the party has only just begun. The night may turn out to be more random, spontaneous, and even a little more unruly than you could have ever expected.

For instance, you arrive back from the pool to find a random note stuck to your door, reading: "Like beer and Canadians? If so, give room 731 a shout around 10", with a childlike drawing of a smiley face, winking, and some doodle you can't discern. Hey, it happens, and when it does you don't ignore it, you see where it leads you. You may find yourself in the middle of a sing along jamming to sublime, brown-eyed girl, or journey while a Johnny Knoxville –look-a-like strums the mandolin.

Sounds pretty out there I know, but like I said, it happens. Of, course at the time it doesn't seem so out of the ordinary, because you've spent the evening with a fridge that cant wait to pop you out a beer. (Which I might add was part of my own intentional design.) Besides it is Girls' Night.

And it's only with your girlfriends that you can say what's really on your mind. You can be hostile because it's been a log day, and give unsolicited advice like " put you boobs away" and no one will hold it against you. You can share secrets of embarrassments or experiments and find out that you're not alone – that it's a Hemmer thing! With your girlfriends you can reveal your guilty pleasure by popping in the Dawson's Creek CD. And while we may all point and laugh, we listen because it's part of who you are, and who you are is someone we love. And we learn more each night we spend together. We learn who needs to schedule one-on-one play dates (me!) and who has a memory like an elephant (Nelly!).

Girls' night is about teaching too-demonstration being the foremost strategy. If someone cant figure out what you'd do with a _ toothbrush, _ crocodile what-cha-ma-call-it, your girlfriends don't miss a beat in showing you-or strangers from Toronto, who promptly reply with a casual " I've got the F, the C, and the K, all I need is U!"

Strangers can really have a way of spicing things up, too. While, "who, what, where. When and why" may make us uncomfortable and a little more revealing than we are known to be, flip the question on Mickey and John and asking about sleeping with brothers is even more ridiculous! They can ease the pressure of a scavenger hunt too- making the urinal requirement not so risky.

But maybe that's half the fun of Girls' Night- taking risks, acting a little uncharacteristic, running around looking for a man named Dan, asking the bartender for an empty martini glass at 1 am, climbing pool walls and getting dropped on our ass, stealing a do not disturb sign and wondering if that room got disturbed in the morning, Sharing our magic number, or lack there of, talking about our fears and failures our hopes and dreams. Dancing to Avrille Lavigne, letting it ALL hang out, comparing and encouraging, teasing, tossing drinks-drenching the carpet in beer. And when it comes down to it, we enjoy just being girls- with a temporary lift of inhibition and pressure of the world around us.

So take every chance you get to kick back with your girls and celebrate the goofy, the ironic, and the downright hilarious parts of life. Because no matter what your up against, there's nobody better equipped to make you forget about it all than your girlfriends!