Preparing to retreat

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A few weeks back my husband went on a men's retreat with our church. There are some lovely differences in the men's and women's retreats, however. The guys go camping and have a weekend of "roughing it" - open fires, tents and cold temperatures, and lots of fresh air. The ladies on the other hand go about 2 hours away to a nice, warm hotel where breakfast is served each morning, a nice, hot shower is ready to start your morning, there are comfortable chairs to sit in for the meetings, no campfire smell, and nice cozy beds to sleep on. All the conveniences of home and more (i.e. someone else cooking for us, etc....).

After looking at my week this week I am beginning to realize though WHY the ladies need to be so far away and need such desperately different surroundings.

When Rick went to men's retreat his "packing" consisted of throwing (well, he does fold) clothes into a bag, grabbing the few essentials, making sure he has snacks and food, and leaving. That's it.

My prep for ladies retreat involves so much more. Yes, I have to pack for myself, remember to take every single toiletry that might possibly be needed for the weekend, making sure that I have some nice clothes (that are clean, match, and FIT), and that's just the beginning. I need to:

• make sure that the 4 little people (and one daddy) have clothes to wear during the time I'm gone
• have food in the house so that said family doesn't starve while I am gone (and at the rate my children eat, that can be disturbing
• be sure the house is in some semblance of order so that there is a starting point before it goes downhill....hee hee
• have meals ready to go for them during the time I'm gone
• make sure that my hubby knows the "routine" cause our kids are big "routine" kids - hmmm...wonder where they get that from?

By the time I'm ready for retreat, I'm READY for a retreat. :) No kiddos, no pressures, no demands. Just time for me to relax and spend time with other ladies and soak in some time with God. And just relax however I can. So, not that I am saying we deserve it, but I am beginning to understand why the ladies surroundings are so drastically different from the men's.