Recently my husband took our two daughters to Phoenix for spring break, leaving me at home with our dog. Oh, I could have gone on vacation with them but I just chose not too. My dear husband would golf, the girls would spend time with their grandparents who were also in Phoenix and that would leave me by the hotel pool with a book. But I didn't want to sit by a pool. You see, I really wanted the luxury of an empty house.
I needed to spend some time in silence, in contemplation. I also needed to work on a new writing project. And it didn't hurt that I had the television remote all to myself. (March Madness cannot end soon enough for me.) I love my family with all my heart, but sometimes the only way I can recharge my batteries is by being alone. Luckily, I am blessed with a husband who understands this and doesn't raise an eyebrow when I suggest they trundle off without me.
Spending spring break in solitude may seem odd to those who are more people oriented, grow up in large families or fear going to the movies alone. But I am an only child, love to attend movies by myself and, by nature, am an extremely independent person. I live my life having a few carefully chosen friends and family members around me. I'm not good in crowds. After a while, places like theme parks grate on my nerves. Sure one line or two is fine. But five hours later bumping elbows with sweaty people and standing on concrete while roller coasters screech overhead loses its appeal. Loud noises also bother me after a while. Oh, I can go to a sporting event and cheer my head off, but then I go home and sit quietly with a book to balance out all the mayhem I previously subjected myself to. Indeed sometimes I crave solitude like a fat woman craves chocolate.
So while some women might have gone to Phoenix, sat by the pool and soaked in the sun, I opted to sit at home and soak up the solitude.
Four days later when I picked up my family at the airport, I felt rested and reinvigorated. I was also happy to see them. Like vacations, solitude is fine in small doses. But it's also good when the people who make a place home come back home.
I needed to spend some time in silence, in contemplation. I also needed to work on a new writing project. And it didn't hurt that I had the television remote all to myself. (March Madness cannot end soon enough for me.) I love my family with all my heart, but sometimes the only way I can recharge my batteries is by being alone. Luckily, I am blessed with a husband who understands this and doesn't raise an eyebrow when I suggest they trundle off without me.
Spending spring break in solitude may seem odd to those who are more people oriented, grow up in large families or fear going to the movies alone. But I am an only child, love to attend movies by myself and, by nature, am an extremely independent person. I live my life having a few carefully chosen friends and family members around me. I'm not good in crowds. After a while, places like theme parks grate on my nerves. Sure one line or two is fine. But five hours later bumping elbows with sweaty people and standing on concrete while roller coasters screech overhead loses its appeal. Loud noises also bother me after a while. Oh, I can go to a sporting event and cheer my head off, but then I go home and sit quietly with a book to balance out all the mayhem I previously subjected myself to. Indeed sometimes I crave solitude like a fat woman craves chocolate.
So while some women might have gone to Phoenix, sat by the pool and soaked in the sun, I opted to sit at home and soak up the solitude.
Four days later when I picked up my family at the airport, I felt rested and reinvigorated. I was also happy to see them. Like vacations, solitude is fine in small doses. But it's also good when the people who make a place home come back home.
Yes, I fully understand your feelings about solitude. Although not a single child as you, my sister and I were about as far opposite poles as two could get. My solitude as a youngster found me climbing very tall cottonwood trees and swaying in the hot summer breezes for hours. As an adult, I enjoy hours of quiet reading or sitting on one of my decks just letting my senses engulf my mind. I too enjoy when the solitude ends as others enter my life through a visit, a phone call or an Internet chat.
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