Thursday, March 3, 2011

"I Vant to be Alone" - at least sometimes...



I grew up with huge swatches of time when I was, for the most part, alone. Parents out working on the farm, older brother away at school so I got used to quiet time with my books or my TV shows. Don't get me wrong - I wasn't abandoned! One of my parents was always around outside, a shout away, so it's not like Children's Aid needed to be called or anything but there were definitely hours that went by when I didn't need to speak to a living soul. And you know what? I really kinda liked it. Hence my Marlena Dietrich quote and picture on this post. Remember as well that alone is not lonely. Not by a long shot.

Now, with the life I lead as a working mom, alone doesn't happen so much. Maybe I'll get a half-hour in the car on the way to do the groceries if I'm lucky. But there's always that pesky cell phone that I feel guilty about turning off should somebody need to get hold of me. But that's not really alone. I can be alone in a room somewhere in the house but with other people yakking or squabbling with each other a wall away from me that's not so much being alone as 'hiding'.

What I crave is real alone time. I'm talking like an entire afternoon when no one is in the house, not even the dog. I don't have to be doing anything special. It could be an afternoon of laundry, I don't care. But that silence, that blessed quiet, when you know there isn't anything that will interrupt your thoughts or create stress, when you can revel in the peace that silence brings. Oh, my. That is gold to me, people.

What about you guys? Does being alone make you twitchy or does it rejuvenate your tired, over-stimulated soul?

9 comments:

  1. Yup, me too. If I don't get a certain amount of alone time, I go a little crazy. I crave the uninterrupted time with my own thoughts. It's much easier to find it now that the kids are grown. :)

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  2. Hi Linda: I hear you. I'll probably wonder why I ever felt like this when my kids have up and left. Although with the cost of living these days I expect I'll have to deal with the noise for quite a few years...

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  3. Nelsa, I just saw the announcement about your new book in PM! Yay, congrats!!!

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  4. Hi Anna! Thanks! Now I don't want to be alone - I want to celebrate with all my friends! :)

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  5. Nelsa! Saw your new book deal in PM. Congratulations!! And, hey, our deals got announced on the same day -- how cool is that?!

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  6. Me too! I was an only child so I really need a lot of time away from the other humans. When I'm deep in writing, I even find too much email and facebook intrusive sometimes. Big congrats on your deal!

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  7. Hi Lena! I love that phrase "Time away from the other humans". So true about the email and facebook time too. Ah, well. It's only 'sometimes' I need the alone time. And thanks so much for your congrats!

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  8. This is right up my alley. I pray for an afternoon all alone. I mean, it's impossible for me with two little ones and a full time job. But if I could just get even 5 hours of silence, I imagine I would sit and stare at a wall and listen to the sweet hum of nothing. I am an alone type of girl who never achieves silence...ugh...now Im depressed.

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  9. Hi OfficeGirl! Thanks for dropping by the blog. I didn't mean to depress you though!:) But I completely understand your frustration at not getting that needed alone time - especially when the kids are younger. I think one problem is we never feel right in just asking for it - too much guilt! But it's so necessary sometimes!

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