This One's for Jill — And Every Woman Who Never Got Her Girls Trip
This One's for Jill — And Every Woman Who Never Got Her Girls Trip
By Cheryl Garcia Co-Founder, Midlife Secret Society
On the getaways we postponed, the ones we finally took, and why it's not too late
When Jill and I were first talking about what the Midlife Secret Society could be- what we actually wanted to build, what we needed it to stand for- she told me something that stuck with me.
She wanted girls trips.
Not as a nice-to-have. Not as a fun content category. As something she'd been quietly missing for years.
Here's what you need to know about Jill: she spent her career as an air traffic controller. Rotating shifts, high stakes, the kind of job that doesn't really clock out even when you do. And when she wasn't working, she was being a mom- fully, completely, the way working moms do it when they're trying to make every hour of free time count. Family trips. Kids' activities. Being present for the people who needed her.
She was good at all of it.
But somewhere in all of it, the girls trips never happened. The getaways that were just hers- just for the friendships, just for the fun, just for the version of herself that existed outside of every role she played- those got postponed. And postponed. And quietly, without anyone deciding it on purpose, they just... didn't happen.
She's not the only one.
This channel, this corner of MSS- it's for her. And for every woman reading this who knows exactly what she means.
What a Girls Trip Actually Does
I had my first real girls getaway in my mid-30s. And I want to be clear- it wasn't exotic. It wasn't a bachelorette in Vegas or a week in Europe. It was a hotel in Savannah GA a few hours from home that somehow I’d never explored. We checked in, we walked around, we found a good restaurant, we stayed up too late talking.
That was it. That was everything.
I came home different. Not in a big dramatic way-just lighter. More myself. Like I'd remembered a version of me that gets a little lost in the daily machinery of life and needed a weekend to breathe.
I've prioritized it more every year since. The trips have gotten bigger sometimes, simpler other times. But the thing they all have in common is this: a few hours in, something relaxes in your chest that you didn't realize was tight. The conversation goes places it doesn't go in regular life. You laugh harder. You sleep better. You remember that you are a person, not just a role.
There is something about being away- even just a little bit away, even just overnight- with women who know you and choose you, that is genuinely restorative in a way nothing else quite replicates.
Science will back us up on this. But honestly, you already know.
Why We Keep Not Doing It
Let's name the reasons, because they're real and they deserve acknowledgment before we move past them.
The schedules. Everyone's calendar looks like a game of Tetris and finding a window that works for more than two people feels like a logistical miracle.
The guilt. Especially if you're still in the thick of caregiving- kids at home, aging parents, a partner who'd never say anything but whose face does or our jobs. The "I shouldn't" feeling is loud.
The money. It doesn't have to be expensive, but it can feel indulgent in a way that other spending doesn't.
The energy. Planning a trip for other people? Easy. Planning something purely for your own pleasure? Surprisingly hard. (See also: Just put the C.)
The "we should do this" loop. The group text that starts strong and then just... keeps not turning into an actual trip.
All of this is real. None of it is a good enough reason.
What We're Building Here
The Girls Trips channel inside MSS exists to close the gap between "we should do this" and actually doing it.
Here's what you'll find here:
Destination ideas for every kind of trip — the low-key overnight that requires almost no planning, the long weekend that feels like a full reset, the bigger adventure for when you're ready to go for it. We'll cover all of it, from "30 minutes away" to "I can't believe we actually did this."
The logistics, demystified — how to pick a destination everyone will love, how to handle different budgets in the same group, how to make decisions without the endless back-and-forth that kills momentum, how to actually get it on the calendar.
Real trip reports — what worked, what didn't, what we'd do differently, what we'd do again immediately. No glossy influencer content, just honest accounts from real women.
MSS group trips — yes, we're planning them. Trips for members, built around the kinds of experiences that make for real connection and real memories. Details coming. Stay close.
A Note to Jill
You spent years showing up for everyone else.
The shifts. The family. The kids. The responsibility of a career where people's lives genuinely depended on your focus.
You gave a lot. You gave most of it.
This is the chapter where you get to receive some of it back. Where the trip is yours. Where the itinerary has your name on it. Where you get to be, for a long weekend at least, just a woman on a trip with women she loves — not a controller, not a mom, not the person who holds everything together.
You've earned this. And we are going to make sure you get it.
MSS Girls Trips starts now.
Your Turn
Have you had your girls trip yet? Have you been putting it off for years? Or are you somewhere in the middle — a few under your belt but a longer one you keep almost planning?
Tell us in the comments. And if you're still waiting for your first one — consider this your sign.
The group text has been sitting there long enough. It's time to pick a date.
The club you didn't know you were waiting for.
.
