Last week three of us treated one of our friends to a PJ party in Toronto. While it was her birthday present, it proved to be a gift for all us.

Momentarily we felt a touch of guilt as we sat on a workday having lunch and wine at an outside patio restaurant, but we were having so much fun, it didn't last long. Plus who should we see in the restaurant but June Callwood, someone we all admired. And our respect went even higher when we observed her getting into her black sports convertible. Aged 80+, we thought "You go girl."

Spending time with girlfriends can really lift your spirits. We shopped, ate, shopped some more and laughed a lot. When we checked into the hotel, the man at registration teased us as we requested four keys... just in case one of us got fed up with the others ... and wanted a break.

No fear of that. Mind you we didn't exactly stay up all night talking, which we'd planned... guess that worked when we were teenagers but now we need our beauty sleep. Instead we lounged around in the morning, catching up with each other and sharing stories of our youth, our families and whatever else we wanted to discuss.

After a quick visit to the Distillery District, we were homeward bound. Back to our everyday lives, to our daily routine and responsibilities. But for 36 hours (not that we're counting) we were free.