Alone Time

During this trip I feel like someone is always with me. Sometimes even attached to me.

Many of my friends have asked me when and how I get “alone time”. I know this is more important to some people than it is to others. Before our trip I worked from home a couple days a week and drove to client sites, some 3 hours away, the other days of the week.

Time alone was lovely. In a car alone with a coffee and whatever station I wanted on the radio. Pure heaven. When we first started this trip I had moments of panic. Mark next to me all the time. Kids hanging on me all the time. I didn’t even get to shower by myself. It was over whelming. I freaked out more than once. I’d go for a walk or even head over to one of the bathrooms to pee just for a few minutes of alone time.

Last week I realized it had been over a month since I was alone for more than 5 minutes. I needed an escape. I fed the kids lunch and drove all the laundry to the laundromat in town. I sat with my book while our clothes tumbled. It was blissful. The very next day we happened to have a really long travel day.  Mark’s awesome sister used some of her hotel points and got us a hotel room for the night. This is so helpful because it takes an hour and half to unpack and pack up the RV for the road. It’s a pretty big hassle for just one night. So on 12 hour trips staying in a hotel is super helpful.  Lucky for us we don’t have many 12 hour trips left.

Our hotel happened to be across from a movie theater that was showing the movie “Me before You”. I had read the book on our trip. After we had finished eating dinner Mark said “I’ve got the kids. I’ll put them to bed. You go see a movie.” I dismissed it at first. But after a second thought, I ran across the street and went. I sat quietly by myself for two glorious hours. It was such a wonderful escape. I’m so glad I did it.

Since those two rounds of alone time I’ve noticed my patience is much better with the kids. My attitude is more cheery. Things over all are more sunny. It’s clear that alone time is an imperative part of my self care. I’m going to make it my mission to sneak away for a walk, run, or to do our laundry ALONE once a week. It’s good for me and in turn good for everyone else. What do you do for alone time?