A recent news article has been circulating social media over the past few months about the importance of moms going on kid and spouse free vacations with other moms. Science says it’s good for your health. Far be it from me to argue with science.

This is a concept that I fully support. Let’s be real moms, we all know there’s no such thing as a real vacation with your family. It’s just moms being the mom and doing mom things in a location you aren’t paying the mortgage on.

Moms on family vacations are still the keeper of the snacks, the negotiator of the dinner plates and the concept of laying in the sun relaxing with a good book with kids around? HA! Laughable. Don’t even get me started on the idea lost on ALL children that vacations are for sleeping in and long naps.

So fellow moms - please know I feel you and we stand in solidarity on this. A family vacation for a mom is NOT A VACATION FOR A MOM.

Indulge me for a moment, let’s imagine a beautiful southern mansion that you can share with at least 20 of your closest friends. Imagine exploring a charming Southern town in spring, wandering around parks and squares, sipping mimosas whenever you feel like it, going out to eat and not being on a schedule. Doing all of this while never hearing the incessant “mommy mommy mommy” never having to wipe a nose or change a diaper – sounds like the stuff dreams are made of right?

Well – please don’t hate me. But in about 6 weeks I’m going to be doing exactly that. With about 20 of my closest friends… who I’ve never actually met in real life yet. Yes, take a second and re-read that. Yep, it’s true. 20 of my best friends I’ve never met.

Confused? Let me explain.

I’m in one of “those” secret Mom groups on Facebook. We all joined around March 2017 when we were pregnant with November 2017 babies. You can click here to read our full story. Over the last two years we have formed a bond like no other. I hit the secret mom Facebook group lottery. Our group is a tribe who supports, doesn’t judge, constantly helps, gives wise advice, commiserates on those days you want to lock yourself in the closet and celebrates even the small victories.

To say I’m excited for this trip is the understatement of the millennium.

If I have managed to hold your attention so far let me tell you a little bit more about this magnificent group of women.

Between us we have:

• 50 children. Yes, that’s 5-0. FIFTY. Let that sink in.
• 20 husbands
• 18 Mother-in-Laws
• Countless pets
• Many full time careers including teachers, doctors, nurses and law enforcement
• Several students pursuing their dreams
• A handful of stay at Home moms
• Endless. Laundry.
• Infinite amounts of sleepless nights
• Children who have already needed surgeries
• Recent loss of a parent
• Some who have never been on an airplane
• Some who have never left their home state
• Some who are world travelers
• Some who have yet to leave their kids alone for an overnight
• Infinite amounts of love for our kids and husbands

But Holy Hell, WE NEED A BREAK.

So where does this bring us to? Keep reading.

I recently saw the story as many of you did about how a man was accidentally invited to a strangers’ bachelor party and he accepted. He turned to GoFundMe and the interweb universe responded.

So why not us? Don’t you think we deserve the trip of a lifetime? I do but, I would also love to bring more of the moms from our group. Our group has about 150 members, 21 have committed to this trip. There’s about a dozen that would love to join us, but life and its obligations don’t leave tons of room for vacation funds.

So here’s the link to our GoFundMe. If you feel on behalf of moms worldwide, we deserve a trip then toss us a Lincoln or Hamilton. Or a Jackson, or heck if you’ve got a Franklin - we would love that!

If we are successful in raising funds here’s what we would do:

• Buy cases of champagne. First things first.
• Second we would open it up via a lottery system to the moms in our main group who have the ability to come (meaning childcare and work leave covered and approved).
• If some miracle happens and the universe responds big then we would aim for things like massages, happy hours and other things to make our trip even more magical. Although with our group – we are more about being together than doing the things.

If you don’t have the ability or desire to contribute that’s cool too. Got a business product you want 20+ moms to test out – contact me. We love swag! Any wine companies reading this?!

Oh and by the way Savannah, GA we are coming for you. And we are coming in hot – do you want us to visit your business or restaurant? Email me!

In my lifetime I’ve seen more horror stories from the internet and Facebook than I care to recall but I’ve also seen countless heartwarming stories too. Help us become one of those great stories. Make our dreams come true – I can promise that we are a bunch of women who will remember and pay it forward.

Thanks for reading!

Small Town Tall Girl, Meredith Bleakley

Just a small snapshot of some of our moms and their families