Sometimes a mom just needs not to mom for a weekend. When you find out your college roomies are all going to be in the same place at once, it’s time to act like you’re 22 again. Though, to be honest, we’ve always acted like this. I truly have the best group of friends! Wherever we go, a good time always follows.

I got the cheapest Amtrak ticket I could find, which meant waking up at 4 a.m. to catch the 5:30 train from BWI to New York Penn Station… a trip I’ve done countless times. NYC almost feels like my second home. Normally, I go straight to my bestie’s house, but this time I headed straight to Central Park. Well, almost straight there. First, I stopped off at a luggage drop location in Columbus Circle. I used Luggage Hero to find a place to drop my bag by the hour so I could go run the park, something I’ve been wanting to do for a while. I’ve been in the park plenty of times and have even run in it, but never the full loop.

After the commute to Penn Station, the subway ride to Columbus Circle, and the luggage drop, I was finally ready to run. It was a gorgeous morning, with perfect temperatures. I happily started off on my six-mile loop around the park. I was craving somewhere flat to run, but alas, Central Park was not that place.

For about two miles, I found myself running alongside a man fully dressed for work. I passed him, he passed me back; I tried to slow down, he slowed down… I quickly realized we had become accidental running buddies. When he finally turned off, we gave each other a wave, and I continued on to finish my loop.

By now, I was starving and ready to just chill. I made my way to Brooklyn with Andrew while Matt selfishly went into work to make a sale…how rude. (Okay, to be fair, Matt works at Cartier, so I guess it was important he went in!) We spent a nice, relaxing day sitting outside in the beautiful weather, waiting for Matt and our other roomie, Josh (and his wife, Andrea), to get there.

We had some big plans… Divatronic’s MAYhem at 3 Dollar Bill in Brooklyn. Guys… this was amazing. Roll your eyes all you want! Just remember, I’m not a regular mom, I’m a cool mom. We got dressed up (not exactly our best looks) and went out to just dance (IYKYK). If you don’t know, that’s a Lady Gaga reference… and if you didn’t catch that, you probably won’t want to read much further.

Mayhem, IMO is Gaga’s best album, and this show was absolutely ICONIC! We were standing second row, watching all these amazingly talented people perform. I went out without my phone and lived my best damn life … in the moment. (“Living her best life” was an actual quote from someone about me, but that’s a long story!) The costume changes, the set, the vocals, the vibe, all of it was next level!

If I could go back and do it again, I wouldn’t change a thing… except maybe my shoes. My 37-year-old running feet just can’t handle anything but tennis shoes anymore.

The best part… It started at 6 p.m. and ended at 10! Perfect for us in our 30s. Of course, we didn’t leave right away. We went straight into the dance club, stayed a little longer, grabbed some food, and then headed home straight to bed. I got a good night’s sleep and woke up fresh as a daisy in the morning. Bless that 10 p.m. ending…

In the morning, we took the dogs for a walk, grabbed some coffee and bagels, and spent another round of hanging out outside before I had to head back to Penn Station to get home. I did have to miss round two of fun with my roommates, but I’m not just a cool mom, I’m a good mom, so I had to get home to see my boys run their track meet.

I absolutely love being just three hours away from this amazing city… and even better, being three hours away from my best friends.

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