Girls nights

I have a confession to make: I watch “The Bachelor.”

Each Monday night, a group of girlfriends and I get together to chat, laugh and yes, judge other women mercilessly. Her butt is too flat. Her teeth are too white. Her chest is too big (this is one we use when we’ve run out of other complaints).

Yes, I do realize the hypocrisy of judging these beautiful women on “The Bachelor” while I sit on a couch eating cookies and wearing a sweatshirt with peas crusted on it.

Is it shallow? Perhaps. Catty? You bet. A waste of time? No way. These girls nights are essential to my sanity as a mom.

For a couple hours each week, I don’t have to be the mom. I don’t have to be chef, driver, lover, writer, disciplinarian, maid and boo-boo kisser. I just get to be a girl hanging out with her friends — even if it is just to watch a dumb TV show.

And at the end of the night, I appreciate being a mom even more because I’ve taken a step back to take a break for a night. When I go home, I put a blanket over my sleeping daughter, finish a load of laundry, snuggle up to my husband and feel grateful to be the mom again.

But those girls night sure make it a lot easier.

Do you have a girls night ritual? What do you do to escape for a minute?