The longer version, for those of you who like details and pictures, starts with the fact that a whole group of  wonderful women showed up to Heifer Ranch, near Perryville Arkansas.  Some of them had friends in tow, and some of them didn’t know a soul.  We had young mothers and grandmothers, working moms and stay at homes, single, married, and things in between.  The only thing, really, that we all had in common is that we are mothers.  And that’s all we needed.  You can say in spite of, but maybe we should say because of our diversity, we meshed wonderfully.  No cliques or hurt feelings, no alienation or obnoxious-ness.  And when it was all done, the MOMcationers were feeling renewed and headed home with at least a handful of new friends.  Some moms came with trepidation, with a self-consciousness, or a pre-determined idea of who wouldn’t like them.  It was amazing to see that all fall away through the weekend.

As one of the event planners, I had a different perspective on the weekend.  At the outset, I was nervous too.  I wanted everyone to be comfortable and have fun, but more than that, I wanted these MOMs to learn from each other, and to see that sometimes taking time away for yourself has benefits that reach far beyond just a couple days of goofing off out in the boonies with some other women.  But as things got rolling, I quickly saw that all was well and good in the land of MOMcation.

We had tons of activities; some group oriented and some self-starting.  One of the more popular group activities was yoga.  Some of the moms were experienced in yoga, and some had never done it before, but everyone who tried it seemed to like it.

There was also jewelry making, deal finding, and two great cooking sessions.

We had nightly get-togethers.  One of my favorite things was getting the camp fire started with Stephanie (aka The Park Wife) sans lighter fluid…Ok, maybe she mostly started the fire, but I threw a few kindling sticks on.  We made s’mores and huddled around to tell tales of mommy life.

We also took a tour of Heifer Ranch and learned more about what Heifer International and the ranch itself does.  The covered hayride was both relaxing and educational. I was really impressed by the fact that many of the MOMcationers took time to explore the ranch on their own and to really think about Heifer’s mission of ending world hunger and building peace.

The icing on the cake is that thanks to the four awesome members of the planning committee* and some really awesome sponsors, we were able to give away some really great stuff, including spa services, gift baskets, books, locally grown food, gym memberships, and even a couple weekend get-aways.  Overall, MOMcation 2010 was  a huge success, and there is already high demand for a MOMcation 2011.  So stay tuned for a date announcement.  If you’re on Facebook, you can “like” the MOMcation page to stay up to date.

*The four awesome members of the planning committee will be showing up in a later post, after I force them to take a group photo. But truly, I cannot say it enough times, MOMcation 2010 would not have happened without them. Thank you Valerie, Nicole, Liz, and Ashlee!

A Momcation is a vacation for Mom, away from the kids, with the goal of relaxing, renewing, and repairing mom  so she can be an even greater Mom when she returns home.

MOMcation 2011 is a retreat featuring opportunities to connect with and learn from other Moms as well as spend some quiet time alone in self-reflection. The retreat is April 29-May 1 at Heifer Ranch near Perryville, Arkansas. It is being organized by moms who realize the importance of taking a break from it all to refresh and revive your spirit and connect with who you are, aside from being a mom.  MOMcation is not affiliated with any group, organization, church or business.  It is open to any mom and mom-to-be who would like to attend.

Who Should Attend Momcation 2011?

Anyone who is, or soon will be, a Mom.  Momcations are for every Mom, and can be considered an important part of being an effective mother.  Look at it this way:  At some point in your life, you’ve probably attended a work-related conference, workshop, or other professional-development type event.  You went to a location out of your normal work place which energized you and gave you new perspective.  While you were there, you probably had a chance to relax a bit and enjoy downtime with your colleagues. And at the end of the event, you left with tons of new ideas and new enthusiasm for your work.  That’s what a Momcation is: professional development for your most important job – being a Mom.

To learn more about MOMcation, visit the links on the right, or click the tabs above.