On Monday evening a group of friends and I get together to watch Downton Abbey.
It has become such a treat to watch the DVD series of this popular television series, to have dessert and hot drinks, plus take time to chat and catch up with each other.
It is just so nice to simply chill out. To take time-out from all that we are each involved in, and consciously organize to have some regular, scheduled 'down-time' with a small group of friends.
My husband takes charge of the whole evening/bedtime/tidy up/week-night family routine in our household on a Monday night, and I get to simply walk out the door to go and have some girl-time with several other ladies. So lovely. Such a blessing.
When we first started this Monday get-together, I volunteered to be the dessert provider. It has been fun coming up with the dessert for each Monday evening's time-out session. To date, we have had quite a range of desserts - some have been home-made, if time and energy has allowed for me to do the baking and preparing. Other times, a quick stop at the supermarket on the drive over to my friend's house occurs instead. Pumpkin pie.... chocolate cake... cupcakes with chocolate butter cream icing.... all have been fun to make and such delightful treats to provide.
Whoever attends the Monday night Dessert & DVD time-out session gets to enjoy putting their feet up. You can have a coffee/a chai latte/a herbal tea/a hot chocolate... whatever hot drink on offer that you fancy. Plus of course, you get to sample a delicious dessert with no focus being on calories or points for the evening. This is purely a relax and enjoy event!
Being able to get together with whosoever manages to turn up on the night, to get to enjoy a big screen DVD movie session in the hostess' family home theatre room, is fantastic.
If we are not watching the Downton Abbey DVD series (due perhaps to too few of the regular ladies attending), then we choose another DVD movie that we all feel like watching.
Then of course on occasion, like last night (as we had not met up over the school holiday period), sometimes we simply spend the whole time chatting whilst enjoying hot drinks and dessert. No movie. Just re-connecting. Lovely.
I am very grateful for this Monday evening time-out experience with a small group of friends. It is great to have my husband happily take on the oversight of the usual family evening routines each Monday night. He also values and sees the benefit for the whole of our family, to have me come home re-charged from having this time-out time. It is so good to have his practical support to make this happen for me each week. It has become an accepted part of our normal weekly family life routine, that Mummy gets this pocket of time for time-out on a Monday evening.
It is so nice also to have a friend willingly open her home each week, and share the benefit of the big screen escapism her family home theatre room provides, with the rest of us who come along each time.
It feels so healthy, to be able to re-group and re-balance everything by having this specific, timetabled time-out time for myself amongst friends. To be able to simply have fun, and time for some respite, in the company of this small group of ladies each Monday, has become very much part of finding the best way for me to look after myself. It enables me to function better and keep on with doing all that I do. All work and little or no play..... really doesn't work.
I have found it to be really truly beneficial to have time put aside to get together for a short, scheduled time with friends on a weekly basis. To be able to take time to provide each other with encouragement if it is required, empathy, compassion, a listening ear, to have a sounding board in a small group setting as a means to toss around ideas, get constructive feedback.... all those things that good friendship can provide, is truly wonderful.
Time can slip by. Connectedness lapse. Busyness so easily can take over.
Time-out, respite, having fun ARE healthy and necessary balancing elements of life, I know the benefits first-hand. I personally really appreciate my Monday evening time-out time with this small group of good friends.
