The Best Time for Girlfriend Time!

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Hello Farmgirl friends!

Is this a good time to meet up with your closest life-long girlfriends?  That’s a question that was heavy on my heart for two months this spring.  Let me explain why.

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Back in the Fall of 2019 my two best girlfriends and I planned to meet up in Denver in May of 2020.  With all three of us having families, jobs, and other responsibilities our yearly girlfriend trip has been slipping to every couple years, then every three years and so back in the Fall we decided the best way to handle that was to plan EARLY.  Right?  So that is what we did.  We planned it, set the date, made some accommodation reservations, and put it on our calendar.  (I wrote a blog post a few years ago about my two best girlfriends – you can read that here if you haven’t already!)

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Then Covid came into the picture.  In March we pretty much took the plans off the table.  Shed a few tears and said “It just isn’t going to happen this year”.  But then the middle of May came and things started opening up, and our states (as well as Colorado) removed the stay-at-home orders.  Airlines were flying, cities were opening, things were looking great for a little get-away.  (The really good thing is that from the beginning of our planning we had no intention of doing anything except staying in a cozy house and being together.  We weren’t going to do any shopping, sight seeing, or eating out.  It was all about cooking good food, talking all hours of the day and night, long country walks, and tons of coffee!)

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After one very hasty group text that went something like this “GIRLS!  The flights are cheap, lets do our trip”; we coordinated flight times, bought tickets, re-booked the house and the rental car and two weeks later there we were… meeting up in Denver!

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Luanne had come in a day early with her husband so Michelle and I got the rental car and drove to where we met up with Luanne and swooped her up and we got settled in the most adorable little hideaway in Denver.

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This property is basically right in Denver, but off the freeway, down a little dirt road and tucked in a little spot with quite a bit of acreage where there are little lakes, walking paths, and all kinds of wildlife.  Here are some pictures that I took on our many walks:

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We all three brought projects to work on and we sat outside on the patio and talked while we worked on whatever little thing it was we brought.

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As is custom for the three of us, we had some incredibly deep talks.  And we had some outrageously hilarious conversations.  And we had a few tearful ones too… although not as many this time as we’ve had in the past!  We drank so much coffee we had to mask up and make another quick grocery store run for more coffee and half and half!

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We attempted to set up the phone on a timer and get some pictures… laughing the whole time!

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I enjoyed my early morning runs all around the property and along the lakes.

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And suddenly, five absolutely magical days had gone by and it was time to fly home.

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We sat on the patio and watched the sun rise on the lake and realized that we could easily have let the little window of opportunity slip by to be together.  And we felt so thankful that we recognized how important it was, even in the midst of a pandemic.  Years from now when I look back on the summer of 2020 and remember all the struggles of the summer… I know I will quickly remember the week that the world opened up for a girlfriend trip and I will smile.

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Until our gravel roads cross again… so long.

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Dori

 

  1. Maxine says:

    *seize the moment! I know it was just the best!♥️ And oh goodness, I could totally live in a place like that!!

  2. Donna says:

    Was right there with you on your girlfriend getaway. Loved the pictures, especially the goslings. My road happens to be caliche. Wish I had some gravel.
    Thanks for sharing & I plan to drop a note to high school , 1962 grad., girlfriend today. . Donna

  3. Marlene Capelle says:

    I live in Denver and don’t recognize this place. If it’s a rental I’d love to know where it is and how to contact the owners.

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Marlene,

      It is not a rental! We had connections! 🙂 Its a privately owned property with a beautiful home and this is the little guest house (original home on the property) and they rent it out as a vacation spot to family and close friends of family. So it was our plan all along to stay here… knowing that it would be the perfect quiet and private place to rest and re-set. Little did we know how important that would be!

      ~ Dori ~

  4. Reba says:

    I feel the same about getting away with my long-time nurse friends. We are planning our trip this year as well! So much has happened since our last time together! We all are counting down the weeks…just texting last night about how in so many weeks we will be in a place together having great times…drinking our coffee, too! This made me anticipate even more my own trip coming up!

  5. Liz Olson says:

    What a wonderful story!!! I’ve been thinking of doing a quilt retreat with a couple of friends sometime and you helped me realize we need to put it together sooner than later! Thanks so much for the wonderful story!!

  6. Laurel Pries says:

    What a wonderful experience in a time when the world is in such upheveal!! Bless you for sharing your little get-away with us…thank you!! It offered a little normalcy in all the un-normal times we are having. You write such a happy blog, thanks bunches!! Stay safe, Laurel

  7. Marilyn says:

    Glad you got to spend some time with your girlfriends. Looks like a good time was had by all.
    Marilyn

  8. Sandi King says:

    Hi Dori;
    Wow! what a beautiful place to hang out with friends. So happy for you all. I am a homebody but I think I would like to visit with friends in a place like that. Peaceful and quiet it looks like. Love the geese with their babies. We have a family of them up the road here that we see on the neighbors pond. They are here every year. Most of my long time friends live close by so get to see them often, though I do like to go on road trips once in a while to just get away for a day or a weekend. Glad you took pictures and have such good friends. Can’t wait for your next blog, you always inspire us to do something.

  9. Pamela Frey says:

    Loved the blog, the pictures and being able to share the experience. Thanks for putting together such a beautiful piece. Originally from Massachusetts, five of my friends (some
    even from first grade) and I try to get together every two years. We had a wonderful
    outing in Kennebunkport, Maine so I could get my ocean fix. However, coming from New
    England, California and myself in Kansas, there was no way to organize that this summer.
    But……………you gave me HOPE for the future, and I love the idea of renting a house!
    Pamela

  10. Becky says:

    What a wonderful story, with pictures! I loved it. Glad y’all had a nice time.

  11. Susan E. Kindt says:

    I enjoyed reading your blog and could relate with it as well. Living in Michigan has been tough this past year. Our Governor closed everything from March to the present. I belong to a group of women of various ages that sewing is their hobby or addiction. There are 40 of us and we meet on the 1st Friday of every month to do a show and tell, have lunch and then learn what we are to make for the next month and bring. Covid put that on hold for quite awhile and made life difficult and sad. Then finally Pfizer came on the scene, most all of us have had our vaccines and we are now once again able to come together. Like you, friends are so important and healthy to our lives – and sewing! Bless you. Susan

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