You can eat a home cooked spaghetti dinner at a red vintage table. Frank Sinatra playing in the background.
You can be in a warm and cozy home with a little Christmas tree still lit up in the kitchen. Sounds of laughter in the background.
You can be in a room surrounded with pictures of loved ones no longer living. The hum of a dishwasher and washing machine in the background.
You can be in the dark in the softly falling snow with warm lights glowing from the windows. No sounds but your own breath in the crisp air.
You may not be alone. But you can be lonely.
You can make the decision to swallow your pride. To ignore the chaos and clutter. To know that being good at working hard may not make you Mom or Wife of the year. You can swallow the criticism and complaining and decide to enjoy the moments you have knowing that someday you will be alone and lonely.
You can decide to love yourself, the person you have become despite the mistakes. The mistakes may not be big life threatening ones. You are not alone and you can decide to not feel the lonely.
You can turn the sad off and be happy. No one will mind. They prefer the happy anyway.
You can be a mess and be funny. You don’t always have to get it right or have it perfectly clean. Because either way you do it you can always be friends with lonely another day. Lonely will always be there for you later.
Don't worry, alone has been one of my very closest friends keeping me company over the years. I have taken comfort in being alone, gotten mad at it, and embraced it. It's not a bad thing. Plus, it's good to visit it every once in awhile - it puts things into perspective, makes you see yourself better than looking into a mirror. Sometimes you choose being alone and sometimes you feel lonely, but sometimes you don't feel the loneliness at all.
Lovely post and the pictures you chose are just awesome! embrace the lonely, it may be the only one you get for a while :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely love the imagery in this. Makes it tangible to me. Very well done.
ReplyDeleteLove the post. I hope (for you, as well as myself) that Alone and Lonely never visit at the same time. You should only have to entertain one at a time (and let's be honest.... Alone is a much better guest!)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post. Too many times 'alone' and 'lonely' are used synonymously and they are not always the same thing.(We've been trying to teach this to my dad- who is always on the hunt for my next potential step-mom).Some of the loneliest moments I have ever had were when I was far from being alone- when the children were filling the house with noise and needs and wants. Some of the moments of greatest peace have occurred when I have stood in the world alone.
ReplyDeleteI loved this and was so happy to check in on you again. I've missed you and your words. Happy New Year!
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