Making Memories | Mother-Daughter Weekend at Deer Run

This past weekend, my daughters and I attended our first Mother-Daughter Weekend event. I wasn't sure about it. Have you ever really wanted to do something, but struggled internally about moving forward? This was me. A big part of the struggle was the cost. I wasn't sure if it was an investment I should make. Yes, I call it an investment because truly this is what it turned out to me After praying about whether to go or not, talking with my husband, and receiving a scholarship plus the remaining funds through teaching, I registered us for a weekend that turned out to be one of the best moments we've shared.

Mother-Daughter Weekend was held at Deer Run Camp outside of Franklin, Tennessee. It is tucked away in nature and seems to be the go to place for summer camp. ☺ When we arrived on the property, I was so happy I had decided to get out of my head and just go. My daughters were on board the moment I told them we would be attending the retreat, and they were counting down the days for us to "camp" out.

Friday evening arrival at Deer Run Retreat

After we parked, we were greeted by friendly women who checked us in for the weekend. At check-in, we were able to choose the activities we would participate in during our stay. We decided on the Giant Swing and Yoga, for sure. My girls were thrilled about doing Yoga together, and we made a big deal of it by getting mats for our weekend. Luckily, we'll be able to use them for our Daily Burn workouts (referral link ... we get a month free if you sign up), too.  After checking in, we took photos. The photographer took two shots of us, and they both turned out so beautiful. 

Sprucing up before heading out of our cabin

After our photo shoot, we headed to our cabin. We lodged in the more rustic cabins. There are higher end cabins at Deer Run with bathrooms. I am so glad we chose the regular cabins because it was fun experience and resembled camping. We brought sleeping bags with us which made making our beds a bit easier. Although we didn't have a bathroom in our cabin, we were maybe 10 steps away from the community bathrooms which were clean and pretty nice in my opinion. The guests for Mother Daughter weekend share cabins so we had two other mothers and daughters in our cabin.

Glow Party!

Before starting the fun, we were greeted by the speaker for the weekend, Jada Daves. She was awesome, y'all! Down to earth, real, encouraging, and didn't try to sugarcoat her life. I really appreciate authentic people.  After sharing the agenda for the weekend, she started us off with a game like Four Corners. It was fun to run around and see which answers my daughters would select for the questions. For one question she asked what is  our least favorite chore. My oldest daughter and I selected cleaning the bathrooms, and the funny thing about that is we had similar reasons for dreading the chore. We don't like it when folks come in behind us and do messy activities after we clean it. For her, it's her sister making slime, and for me, it's my husband shaving. 

Saturday morning, we rose and showered. We stayed up pretty late because of the Glow Party and movie on Friday night. Deer Run served us a filling breakfast to help us start off right. After breakfast, we walked the property as part of our morning devotional time, and then met up with the other ladies for the morning session. I was blessed during the morning session because we poured into our daughters and they poured into us. We shared with one another the way see each other. I nearly cried, but I held it together. ☺

They had plenty planned for us to do outside of our selected activities. There was a relay race where I had to spin around with my head on a baseball bat and got crazy dizzy before having to run. There was a craft using our pictures from the day before. There were games and puzzles set up for us to use at our leisure.

The Giant Swing and canoeing were some of our favorite moments. My youngest and I faced our fear of heights. I don't think I have ever screamed so loud then I broke out laughing because I was happy that I did it. 

Not only did we enjoy our time with each other, but we made new friends. The cool thing about going with the flow is that new doors and relationships can open. We had no idea who we would share a cabin with, and we got lucky to share it with A and her mom. They were fun to connect with it, and it didn't hurt that A has a way with words and compliments. Between her and my daughters I was smiling and laughing all weekend. My girls and I are looking forward to hanging out with them a bit more. 

Heading out to Western Night at Mother Daughter Weekend

We all had a wonderful time connecting with each other and disconnecting from the world. Memories were definitely made. We are already planning to attend next year Lord willing.

Have you ever participated in a mother daughter event? What do you think about intentionally going away to connect with your girls? Share your thoughts in the comments. 

Like this post? You may also enjoy, Mothering Daughters | 8 Things I Love About Being a Mom.