By Myself

Inspirational song: You're Only Lonely (JD Souther)

It ought to be unsettling how many times I have to discard the opening question "is it weird" when I compose for this space in my head. Yes, Anne, it often is weird, whatever it is. Don't worry about being weird. Just accept it and move on. 

This weird thing I'm contemplating this time is whether other people are as thrilled as I am to get to spend time absolutely alone in the house. Even five or six years ago, when there were far fewer people in the inner circle, I liked having alone time. Now that we have housemates and extra animals living here, and grandchildren present a few times every week, my alone time is much more precious. I get excited by the dumbest things, like not feeling self-conscious about talking out loud to myself or being comfortable leaving the bathroom door open when I'm in there. I had two rounds of being the only human home today, and I enjoyed every second of silence and stillness. Of course a nap was involved, but a nap in a peaceful house is extra wonderful. 

Grandpa took Valerie out for one-on-one time. He had suggested taking both kids out to play in the floating section of the river, but Val asked for it to be just her. It ended up being a very special day for her, getting to play in water until it started raining, and then coming over to hang out with the grandparents and get all of the attention for herself. She helped feed the animals dinner, doing way more of it herself than before. She was extra cuddly with me, and we had a great uninterrupted-by-brother chat. She wanted to stay and watch videos and read the airplane magazine grandpa gave her, but we had to prepare for game night, so I took her home.

Now folks are over for games, but they asked to complete a very long, epic game of Catan (expansion pack) that they started when I was in California. So I am peacefully sitting in my favorite chair, playing jigsaw puzzles on my iPad, listening to them discuss the game. I don't have to tap into my social battery at all, and I am experiencing absolute bliss both being alone and with family/friends at the same time.