i find i need alone time. time to think and journal and collect my thoughts. or maybe to organize my thoughts. coffee with a friend doesn’t count (since i’m not alone), date nights don’t count (but i love those, too!).
*
for me, quality alone time might be a soak in the sub, a short nap, a drive alone to run an errand, or time to sit in my car and make a list while i look at the ocean. after a few minutes of solitude i find i am energetic, ready to play with my boys and happier in general.
*
how about you? do you need you crave solitude? how do you find time for it?
I never need alone time. In fact, I can never stand it. You don’t have to agree; I know how I feel.
I enjoy creating for my time of solitude. Scrapbooking or organizing my photos always relaxes me. I love the photo books you can make online now too. It makes it so easy to enjoy something you love so much! I could edit, crop and arrange photos all day.
Now that my children are raised, I have lots of time for solitude.
I love that.
I never tire of it.
I have joined a gym to get a little ‘me’ time back but I mostly get to do what I want when my two babes have gone to bed 7pm on a good day, I get to eat in peace & have a nice cup of tea
I love my quiet time, with no one else around. Just to hear my own thoughts, not 3 other peoples gives me immense pleasure. So now even a trip to the supermarket (someting I used to hate) I enjoy because I’m alone!! Having 2 sons (6 and 2) means there’s a lot of energy and noise and demands, so solitude is a wonderful thing to have, even for a few minutes!
funny when my 5 year old daughter says MOM, I THINK YOU NEED SOME ALONE TIME! she just knows… and reminds me-
i totally agree with you, I am social person but in order to keep my balance I always make sure i will have at least a short time alone by myself. My favortie time is when everyone is sleeping.
Exactly so. Good for you!
Napping. Just snuggling with my dog, Milo. I LOVE coming home to a quiet house after work, just to relax.
I do indeed crave alone time… I find mine after my daughter goes to bed… I sneak into our office where I sew and take blog/facebook breaks.
I have to have quiet. With two small daughters, it’s usually only after they’re in bed that I can enjoy it. I enjoy having a mug of tea, watching my favorite TV shows, journaling, reading, and blogging. Journaling is especially valuable as it is centering for me. Just watching a movie, though, is great for relaxing.
I love my “me time”. Of course it doesn’t happen until all the kids are asleep and everything is picked up and ready for the next day. My husband sometimes gives me a hard time for staying up so late but it’s the only quality “me time” I can find sometimes. I love working on baby books, playing with pictures (love picnik by the way – thank you!), blogging, facebooking, making lists, or just laying in bed and watching a little TV. I think everyone, especially mom’s need a little “me time”!
I don’t know a mother who doesn’t need it although most of us don’t get it as often as we need it I am sure. I love to go out for an evening errand when my husband gets home from work and take the looong way. The long way there and the long way home. Stop at the material store for something I really “needed” or suddenly remember that there is something I need to pick up/drop off at a friend’s house. Oh and I play the music as loud as I want…and that’s usually pretty loud!
Most definitely! I love to sit on my varanda, sipping coffee, looking at the entire city lit up at night. 🙂
I am an absolute solitude person! I have been described as a “secure introvert” –one that can be in front of a crowd, but finds my source and strength in being alone! On that note, my husband surprised me on Monday with your “be still” necklace. It was for my bday which is next month-but he felt i needed it early for the season that I’m currently in. Thank you for this beautiful piece of art that I have worn constantly since the moment he gave it to me–to remind me to be still in the presence of my Beloved Jesus, which brings us back to the original topic of solitude-with Him!
Although I am a people person and absolutely love being around my family, I too need some solitude each day, just to get my thoughts straight. My daughters have just started school this week though and, although I am carer for my elderly mother-in-law who lives with us, I am finding that I can now have a short time in the day instead of late at night. My times of solitude change with my seasons of life.
I love to just hop in the car and go for a drive in the country. I’m good to go after that.
Solitude is my middle name! No not really, but I do love it! I love getting to run errands by myself, even if it’s as simple as filling my truck up with gas, or running to the store for milk. I N.E.E.D. solitude E.V.E.R.Y.D.A.Y. I find that I am a better mother and wife when I get it.
B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. photo! 😉
In my 19 years of mothering I’ve never “found” the time to be alone, instead I’ve found that time definately has had to be made. I too feel the need to take some time away just to think and to “be”.
DEFINITELY! 🙂
Yes, I so need alone time! I really realized this over the summer when *everyone* was home and alone time was really hard to come by. My solution is to get up an hour before everyone else does for a few moments of peace and alone-ness.So glad I’m not alone in my need for alone time. It’s comforting. 🙂
Thanks for such a lovely site. Your photography is so inspiring.
Aby
as i’ve gotten older i really cherish my quiet me time. i love being with my family & especially my sweet man, but i love a quiet clean home
i love a walk along the beach even more…even if my home weren’t clean & never quiet, i’d love a walk on the beach!!
xo
I think it’s absolutely necessary to energize and recharge ourselves. How can we be any good to others if we aren’t good to ourselves? I struggle with finding that time for myself, but it is so whole-heartedly necessary for me.
I’m finding the older I get, the more I need a little bit of solitude for my sanity. Most of the time it’s just a trip to Target, or a longer than normal hot shower. Whatever it is, the time helps me feel a little refreshed, and leaves me wanting more of my family 🙂
solitude is snatched these days. i work the early shift at starbucks–yes, i know you’re thankful–and i like driving in the dark to work. it’s peaceful.
i also snatch solitude when i read blogs, like yours! it’s the reading i’m doing these days, as i’m in between good novels. that’s my other way to relax.
Iam discovering that I need this as well. With baby #2 now 4m and #1 2, I am discovering how important time alone is. My hubby is great about keeping the kids when I ask him but fail to ask. Being a working mother (and work def. does not count as alone time) I find that I want every minute with by kids and hubby. However, I am learning that I am tired and crabby, so I need to find time to be alone even if it’s just 15min.
Absolutely! I guess i have a hard time relating to people who say, “oh i never need alone time, it’s not for me.” Hmmm…i think we ALL need it in some form – even if it’s just a few quiet minutes a day. (Though i need more than a few minutes, ha ha.) So glad you are able to find that balance between family, friends, your work & yourself!
I definitely need my solitude. I get very grouchy if I don’t get a little time to myself every couple of days,,,even if it is just a small dose. I walk several miles every day and am usually able to clear my head then, but sometimes I have a walking partner. 🙂 I think we all need our time to ourselves.
no longer do I need to crave solitude. Growing up and through raising 3 kids and caring for 30 foster kids (one at a time!!) I would find that I HAD to stay up late for my solitude – fortunately, I didn’t require much sleep and I could very easily catch naps during feeding times! Now that the house is quiet most of the day I LOVE it, but have to work at REAL solitude. I can so easily fritter away time sitting here at the computer. I love that Bible study this year has weekly memory verses because that is part of my solitude with the Father! (much better than playing hearts on the computer 🙂 )
oh yes, i do crave solitude. though with no kids (yet) and a husband in grad school, i probably get too much of it. my ideal alone time would be spent thrifting or watching a movie with a cup of hot green tea.
I love solitude …being with family is everything but being able to be alone is also important.
i am absolutely the same way. although i usually need more than a few minutes. a good couple of hours alone and quiet does the trick for me.
I do crave it very much. First thing in the morning when my kids are still asleep and I can drink my coffee and watch the day begin is my favorite time.
i am the same way. i need to have my own “quiet time.” right now i have that time most mornings. i take my son to kindergarten every morning. it’s about a 15 minute drive. i always bring a mug of coffee with me and enjoy my drive home drinking my coffee, seeing the sunrise and the start of a new day. it’s become something i really look forward to. but of course there are those mornings like today when my daughter wakes up and decides she needs to come with us 🙂 (usually she sleeps until after i get back–daddy is home with her).
it’s funny too, i used to always listen to the radio when i was in the car. now if i’m alone in the car, i just want quiet!
my husband is also good to take the kids every once in a while just to give me a little alone time.