I have this friend who hates to be alone. I find that very peculiar because I love to be alone. Okay, I’m not overjoyed when Dale has to work on a Saturday night but mostly I do just fine entertaining myself for an afternoon or evening or even a weekend. I’m not sure why my friend has such a hard time with it but I’ve been thinking about ways to help him learn to enjoy being alone and that’s how I came up with this week’s Ten on Tuesday topic: 10 Favorite Things To Do When You’re Alone.
- Knit. Obviously. Nothing is more entertaining to me, especially if I’m working on a complicated pattern or design.
- Read. I swear my family cannot resist interrupting me when I’m reading. When they aren’t home I don’t get interrupted. Hooray.
- Watching reruns of Grey’s Anatomy. No one in my house loves this show more than me and I can watch old episodes over and over.
- Go shopping. I really do prefer to shop alone. Sure, it’s fun with Hannah or a girlfriend but I find I am most successful when I go by myself.
- Get a pedicure. This is another activity that’s fun with a friend but I love to go by myself and just relax and enjoy that little bit of pampering.
- Bake. Baking eases stress for me and it’s also fun to bake something yummy to share with my family when they get home.
- Visit the crafts store. I like to poke around and look at all the things and plan and then come home and craft. Of course, sometimes this goes terribly wrong.
- Go for a run. I do love to run alone.
- Eat foods only I like. This used to be sushi but now my family likes that. I’m still mostly on my own for Thai and Mexican, though. Okay, not really because Hannah likes those cuisines but she’s never home anyway.
- Take photos. I can take photos of silly things and if they come out crappy no one is the wiser.
How about you? Do you enjoy being alone? What do you like to do when you are alone?
I grew up the only little girl in the neighborhood, so I spent most of my summers exploring, reading and playing by myself. I used to walk to the library by myself (it was 2 miles from home). I’ve never had a problem being alone, yet too much time alone can make one selfish;-p
hmm interesting point of view cindy.
carole i love your list and find mine is silly – there are so many other things i can think of now lol! once again i think i wasnt fully in the drift of what you had meant. that’s ok, it’s a loose interpretation lol.
is there a linkie link?
never mind, found the link
Our lists have a lot of overlap! I never have a problem finding ways to occupy myself when I’m alone — and, in fact, I crave the time by myself. I think it makes me BETTER when I’m out in the world with other people. (I’m really an introvert. Truly.)
Last week a friend come to me sobbing because she’d been alone for a week while her daughter was away. I was floored. Smith is working a lot of Saturday nights. Too bad we’re so far away! I do much of what you do, but I never turn on the tv. That’s what Smith likes. I like music. Listening to music is what brings we joy when I’m alone.
I enjoy doing the same things alone that I do when my family is around. But I also like going shopping by myself, especially yarn stores and specialty food stores when I can browse to my heart’s content, not having to be concerned that my husband is tapping his foot outside waiting for me.
I LOVE being alone. My daughter, however, hates it. It must the only child thing for her. I like to shop alone as well. I have my list, I am on a mission, and I am out of there!
I like to shop alone too. It’s so infrequent though because it’s a drive to get anywhere decent. And my neighbor is also struggling with alone time – I don’t get it! 😉
I didn’t think of shopping, but, yes! I usually do better on my own, too. Thanks for a fun topic!
Last summer,while staying at the Disneyland Resort, my family all took a nap after lunch. I hit the parks alone and had the BEST three hours! I grew up in that area and have been to the park countless times, but never alone. It was an amazingly fun afternoon.
Totally agree about the knitting and the reading. Shopping–more selective. I have winnowed out the annoying shoppers in my life and only shop with those who approach it like I do.
Some of our favorite times when the kids were little were “ladies’ nights”, the occasional dadless evening, without the energies and turmoil sparking from that gentleman. We’d have food he doesn’t approve of, like baked potatoes stuffed with cream cheese and bacon!
I agree, I love alone time in good doses. Too much and I’m not happy about it, but a few hours on a weekday evening or a Saturday afternoon is perfect.
I’m an introvert and I need my alone time to relax and recover. I live alone with my cats and am happy that way. I have even taken a cruise by myself. When a lady at the pool bar expressed surprise, I asked her where her husband was. “Oh, he’s at the sports bar.” I asked her where her children were. “Oh, they’re at the kid’s club.” I pointed out that we were both sitting at the pool bar alone and I didn’t have to share the bathroom with anyone, either. She realized it wasn’t so bad.
I love alone time too and find that working on jigsaw puzzles just makes the time fly. Just one more piece, then one more piece.
I hope your friend finds something here to love – you’ve got 10 great ideas! I especially like the eating stuff no one else likes (especially *whenever* you want) and pampering yourself. might as well make the best of it, right?!
I am an introvert also and need alone time to re-charge. I will scrapbook, sew, take a nap, watch tv no one else likes, bake, clean (especially wash floors), read on the deck or in a chair, I love to go to breakfast by myself. I prefer shopping by myself. I can go into a changing room 8 million times and buy NOTHING!. Browse craft stores. I used to love browsing book stores…but they are harder and harder to find. I like going to the beach…you can people watch, leave when your ready.
Trying to read in peace when the family is around is like trying to go to the bathroom when you have a toddler. That kid can be playing quietly for hours, but as soon as s/he hears the bathroom door close its bang bang bang then mommy!mommy!mommy!mommy!mommy!
I am the baby of my family, so as my older brothers left home, I had quite a lot of alone time and learned to appreciate it. Reading, knitting, spinning, browsing pinterest, watching TV or a movie, sitting outside and enjoying the sounds of nature, kayaking, walking/running … while I can do all of those things happily in the company of a friend, sometimes just being on my own is a treat!
Good prompt, I thought I wouldn’t come up with 10, it really wasn’t a problem.
I wish I had gotten in on time for the prompt (technically I have time, but I am not sure if I actually have time if you know what I mean). There are a ton of things that just seem to go better when I’m by myself, but reading is a huge one. I don’t have to feel guilty about not paying attention to someone when I’m reading if they aren’t there to pay attention to!