Do you feel guilty when you leave the kids at home and actually go on a vacation? Don’t! Leave the kids and have an epic girlfriend getaway. Long Weekend TravelingMom shares five reasons why every mom needs to have a girlfriend getaway. She also shares five places that make the perfect location for a girlfriend getaway!

In my BK (Before Kids) life, there were plenty of times when I enjoyed a girlfriend getaway. It was simple to grab a few friends and hit to road for a concert, party or weekend away.  I remember driving three hours from DC to NJ and back home the same night for a few hour party. Those weekends away gave me a chance to let my hair down and connect with friends, not to mention have a great time! When I think back to how much fun I had during those times, I am so ready to plan my next girlfriends getaway.

After Kids: Every Mom Needs a Girlfriend Getaway

But what now with life AK (After Kids)? Do you really have the time for a girlfriends getaway with – depending on your life stage – breastfeeding and playdates, homework and sports practice, or college visits and AP exams?

The answer is a resounding YES. Not only do you have the time but you NEED to make sure to make time. No matter how old or young your children are, every mommy must make time for a girlfriends getaway and here are 5 reasons why.

Going on a girlfriend getaway will help you live longer.

Your family wants to you to live forever, so remind them that girlfriend time helps you live longer. Whether it’s with old friends who have known you forever or new friends who you’ve bonded with over your current life, nurturing these relationships are vital for your well being. Often moms in the thick of #momlife don’t have the time to really connect with their friends on a regular basis. Make up for it in quality over quantity. A study conducted in 2000 by UCLA found that women not having close friendships can be as detrimental to your health as smoking or carrying extra weight.

Read More: How to Have an DIY At Home Spa Day with Your Girlfriends

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Are you tired of hearing “I don’t like this dinner” or any other complaint from your family? A few days of your children doing it someone else’s way will be sure to make at least one member of your family appreciate your way much more. (At least in my house, my children appreciated my way of making cauliflower rice over my mother’s.) . The guess is going to be who it is and how long it lasts for. Anyway it goes, it might make you appreciate them just a little more as well.

You can truly appreciate a girlfriend getaway now.

At this point in life, you can appreciate time away. Unlike the BK getaways, you understand how precious your time away is and will savor every minute of it.  A good getaway will let you catch up what you’ve been missing. If it’s sleeping in, your favorite TV shows or a colorful libation, you will have your own dedicated time for your agenda. A great getaway will help you create new memories that will sustain you on the days when life is twisting you like a piece of spaghetti.  So it’s totally up to you to create the agenda for YOUR great getaway.  

You’re teaching your children about self-care and that you are important.

Your children need to remember that you do exist outside of being their mother. In addition to the love and support you provide your children, you’re modeling their vision of what mothers do.  A healthy and well-balanced woman is a better mother. By taking the time for yourself, you’re showing a behavior that you’d want your daughter or your daughter-in-law to embrace in the future. What better time to plant the seed than now? When you get away, it’s you placing your needs ahead of everything else, even if it’s just for a couple days.

It can be your annual bonus that you’ll more than earned!

Additionally, as a mother, you wear multiple hats of house manager, life coach, caregiver, cook, chauffeur, nurse, etc. Salary.com estimated that the market value of stay-at-home duties would be more than $114,000 a year. It would be $68,000 for working mothers in addition to their full-time job. There’s no 2 week vacation time built-in with your job as a mother. It’s only fair to go ahead and make sure that you take the time for a girlfriend’s getaway.

5 Places to Go for the Epic Girlfriend Getaway

So what are you waiting for? Call your girlfriends and pick out a place for your trip! It’s time to get planning. Here are a few Girlfriend Getaway approved trips from my fellow TravelingMoms to give you a push on where to go:

1. Luxury in Your City

A girlfriend getaway doesn’t have to take you far. My girlfriends and I saved on the airfare staying local in Atlanta. That leaves plenty of room for splurging on the spa treatments. You can do the same in your city!

2. Girlfriend’s Guide to Universal Orlando

I love, love, love Universal and see it as an awesome place to visit with your girlfriends. You might even want to upgrade to the VIP tour and make it extra special.

3. Club Med Sandpiper Bay

Our Luxe TravelingMoms voted for a girlfriend getaway at Club Med vacation. Honestly, I will always take Dana’s recommendation when it comes to places to go, so I’m sure this is amazing.

4. Vegas with the Girls!

Who doesn’t love Vegas? And everyone knows the rules about ‘What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’. That makes Vegas the perfect destination for the wild girlfriend weekends — or at least to pretend that you still got it, girl!

5. Food and Wine at Disney’s Epcot

And just because it’s personally on my list for this fall, Disney’s Epcot Food and Wine Festival! It goes without saying that a Food and Wine event is totally the perfect place for a girlfriends trip. I did it last year with one friend and this year, I’m doing it with even more!

What are your favorite places for a Girlfriend Getaway?  Let us know in the comments below.