Girlfriends

"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve." Stand by Me

I've had the same group of best friends since I was 12. Maybe even youger. We have been friends since before we waxed our eyebrows. We have been friends since the days we wore our hair in a 'poufs', as we called it, and teased our bangs to look like Alyssa Milano. Definitely since crop tops and high-waisted jeans worn with skinny leather belts bought at Guess were in style.

Since before 90210. Probably since the beginning of Who's The Boss.

My best friends are awesome. And we've been through it all together. Bad hairstyles, awful jeans, pleather pants and tops, sequined tube tops and Tretorn running shoes. We have been together since skinny jeans were first in style, perfected with safety pins.

We have spooked ourselves with the Ouija board, watched Girls Just Want to Have Fun more than one million times, and danced all night long.

We have travelled to Venezuela, Florida, California, Toronto, and Greece. We have lived together as college roommates, and interned together in Washington, D.C. We mastered the subway, almost got kidnapped, and had VIP access to the hottest clubs. We went to the same university, joined a sorority, skipped classes and studied (yeah, studied—ha!) in the library together.

We were together when we discovered the INTERNET.

We've shed tears, yelled at each other, kept each other's secrets, and gotten in trouble.

We were in each other's weddings.

We had babies.



Half of us can now commiserate over how tired we are. We don't sleep much anymore.

We have overcome tragedy and have laughed so hard it hurt. We have stories to tell, nights we don't remember, and nights we remember as clearly as if they happened yesterday.

We have seen eachother naked far too many times, and have no shame around one another. Going to the bathroom with the door open and continuing conversations while we're peeing is second nature to us.




Although we no longer all live in the same city (half of us are in Ottawa, the other half, Toronto) we see each other as often as we can.


Every year, we always plan a girls getaway weekend. We do it up Sex and the City style. Except we don't go anywhere as exotic as Abu Dhabi. (There is definitely a Samantha in our group, though!)

This year I was lucky to be invited to the Brookstreet Hotel for the weekend, and of course, I had to bring my best friends with me to experience it all.


I even bought new shoes to celebrate! (They were on sale, and I didn't go over budget! I even returned a dress to justify the Burberry shoe purchase. See how good I am?)
This past weekend, we kissed our kids goodbye, suffered minor anxiety attacks, hit the LCBO for alcohol, stocked up on junk food, and made our way to the hotel for a weekend of fun and relaxation.

Saturday started with breakfast on Elgin Street, our old stomping grounds during our university days, and then we hung out around the pool of the Brookstreet Hotel and girl talked for about three hours. We took pictures...


and had some yummy drinks...

We talked some more. And laughed. A lot. Then we got ready for a night out. A night that would keep us all awake well past midnight. A night that included a fun car ride with a designated driver (thanks, Z!) and lots of wine.

It was a perfect weekend, at a perfect hotel. I think it's really important to try to get away at least once a year with your closest girlfriends to re-connect, to unwind, and to relax. And, of course, to party like it's 1999. With better hair. And, fine, with not as perfect abs, but whatever.

The Brookstreet is a great hotel complete with an amazing spa, gorgeous outdoor saltwater pool overlooking a PGA approved golf course, and five-star dining. I would most certainly go back.

The weekend went by far too quickly, and it was back to reality in suburbia. It was a memorable weekend with fabulous girlfriends, and for a little while, it felt like we were 12 again.