I have never been away with just a group of girlfriends. Not once in my 47 years of living. Ansie and I went away a few times together but it was just the two of us. I always felt like I was missing out of an important part of womanhood but I never had a tribe of people I was close to or who included me in that level of activity. The lady who runs my walking group has started organising a range of different events, one of them being a weekend away. I was a little hesitant to join, mainly because it was a few days after the first anniversary of Cameron’s death and I wasn’t sure how I would feel. But I did end up just booking a spot.
I am so glad I did.
It was the first weekend away she organised, so there were just 6 of us – four of the ladies I knew from our walks, so enough for me to feel comfortable. We didn’t go very far, the resort was about an hour outside of Pretoria but it was perfect!
There was no real plan for the weekend, no set agenda which was just what I needed after a very emotionally charged week. I ended up reading a lot, napping, having long chats about grief, Cameron, relationships, life and so much more. It was just what I needed after the week – a chance to really process my emotions, rest, relax and gain wisdoms from the other ladies in the group, who are all older than me.
It was so nice not having any expectations – we could do what we wanted, when we wanted to. We were going to hike on Sunday but were so relaxed by Saturday afternoon that we decided to skip the hike and drive to the waterfall, where we were going to hike. It was a lovely outing and chance to see yet another beautiful place in South Africa.
There is another event planned for November and I can’t wait.
