Alone

Posted by Rosie

 

English definition of “alone”

adjective\ə-ˈlōn\

: separate from other people or things

: without people that you know or that usually are with you

: feeling unhappy because of being separated from other people

With Simon and the boys away skiing I have been home on my own - alone.

: separate from other people - Yes

: without people that you know or that usually are with you - Yes

: feeling unhappy because of being separated from other people - No

Alone yes.  Lonely most definitely not.

For many people the idea of spending 10 days on their own in a farmhouse in the middle of the Normandy countryside would fill them with dread.  For me it is something I look forward to.  Don't get me wrong - I love having my family around but with that family comes ties, responsibilities, burdens ... oh and only half the bed!  Meals have to be placed on the table, school runs done, boys taken to and collected from activities, questions answered, homework help given, reminders about saxophone practice dolled out, 4 times as much washing dealt with and Lego trodden on.  OUCH!!  It is sometimes difficult to find time alone to be me.

So 10 days alone gives me that valuable time to be me and to recharge my batteries.  I can eat what I want, when I want.  There is no-one to ferry here there and everywhere (note to self though - MUST remember to collect boys and Simon on Sunday evening from the station), no questions to answer, no homework or saxophone, ¼ of the washing to do and NO Lego to tread on.  Oh and all the bed ;)

Alone yes.  Lonely most definitely not.

I have caught up with friends for supper, for cake and for chatting.  The sort of catching up where we talk about O' Level English Literature, smallholdings and genealogy without a whiff of rugby, DIY or diggers.  I have baked chocolate brownies and eaten rather too many of them and may have had a glass or two of wine.  I have stopped the car and watched the mist rise from the countryside.  I have gone for long walks with the dogs and not taken either my phone or a watch because it didn't matter what time I got home.  I have sat in the valley and just listened to the birds and watched the butterflies flutter past .... and I have wondered why butterflies are in fact not called flutterbyes.
 
Alone yes.  Lonely most definitely not.

Alone may have the same derivation as lonely but this has negative connotations.  Alone for many people is negative but for me, 10 days alone is just what I need.  Time alone gives me time to be Me.