I'm honestly starting to think this is me
More and more
I relish my own company
Revel in any alone time that I can grab
A question
A phone call
An instruction
They all take me away from my time
I need to shop
But I am putting it off
For as long as I possibly can
I can use up what we have here
... But my meals are getting random
And fun
I need to get back to my Smaller life
This one
Is not for me
All your posts Sue are really hitting home with me, I have gone a little off track, I am not sure whether to continue my current blog, I think people are naffed off we me starting and stopping blogs, but I am thinking about starting another, because I really crave the simple life so much, we are working hard this year so we can afford to buy a simple small abode, I don't want to be faffing around all day, I just want to stop, I just want to enjoy lifes simple pleasures, be out in the fresh air, enjoy mother nature, etc, I am going to stop buying stuff and declutter properly a this time and get to the place I really need to be. xx
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like we are on the same page of our lives. Go for it ... we only have the one life.
DeleteI love a new blog, there's something very satisfying about picking out the new fonts, themes and sidebar gadgets. I'll be on the look out for you have a fresh start :-)
I will let you know it will be a few weeks I reckon.
DeleteI have set the new blog up now Sue, will be a few days before I post though.
DeleteBrilliant, I've Followed 🙂
DeleteYou are not alone in needing to be . . .
ReplyDelete💚 💕 💚
I think I have gathered a little band of very like-minded readers here. We are altogether alone and loving it, or craving it and heading towards it :-)
DeleteI am an introvert with a capital "I", so I completely understand! And I think it would be interesting to learn the ages of your readers who are interested in downsizing, simple living, etc. I am in my early 60's.
ReplyDeleteI think most of my readers know my age, but for any that don't I'll say quite proudly that I am in my late fifties ... 59 next month to be exact, so it's VERY late now ... haha!
DeleteIt takes a lot of years to get this experienced :-)
Interesting question, Deb. I am exactly three weeks younger than Sue :-)
DeleteI absolutely need time alone. I used to have much more of it weeny husband was traveling for work. Days would go by and I would be on my own. I loved it. Never felt lonely or the need to socialize. Now he's on disability so there isn't as much time alone but I still carve out some when he's getting treatments. I just love to sit and gaze out a window, or read a good book, or cook something just for fun. I have definitely gotten more introverted as i've gotten older but I think it was always there.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing WHEN ... but I love the sound of your 'weeny' husband :-)
DeleteThe charity shop manager asked if I wanted more responsibility - being a lead volunteer - but I said definitely NOT. Trying to avoid responsibility and complicated-ness not add to it. Simple is best!
ReplyDeleteThe RIGHT answer.
DeleteI started out as a one shift a week volunteer at Oxfam, once I could persuade my ex-husband to mind my youngest son for a couple of hours. I thought it would be great for meeting like-minded people. Within three months I was doing two shifts, then they asked me to be Donated Goods Manager. Two months after that I was the Shop Manager,a year later I was involved in training other shop managers and to cut a long story very short, nearly twenty five years and four different charities later I hung up my sorting gloves forever.
Stay just as you are, but it's nice to be amenable to the odd extra shift ... if it suits you and helps them.
Simple is best and Harvey and I have been discussing that constantly over the last while. Eventually we will need to downsize, but will put it off for as long as possible.
ReplyDeleteIntrovert here and I really need my "alone" time.
God bless.
Simple is most definitely best, and you will know when the time is right to downsize.
DeleteI have always needed alone time - to recharge and regroup. I grew up in a large family where it was difficult to find a spot to be alone in the first place - and I live in a large city which has both pros and cons - but as long as I can retreat to my small apt. at the end of the day I can manage.
ReplyDeleteI retired early a couple of years ago, and while I didn't become a total recluse, I did spend a lot of time on my own, especially during the week as most friends were still working - and I loved it. But two years in I recognized the fact that I was becoming a bit too much of a recluse - especially during our long, long, hard winters so I started looking for a few things to force me out that door - at least upon occasion. I now work PT, volunteer, wander the city and find new things to explore - as I choose. I think ending the balance that works for you is "key".
I do have to be careful to draw the line between what I want to do and what others may expect me to do. And, I do still give myself a few days break now and again, no phonically, internet or V - just some lovely music on the radio and me puttering about enjoying that alone time.
And yes, I am trying to simplify my life more and more - I only have so much energy and I don't want to waste any of it.
Hope you get back to the van soon.
It sounds as though you have a really good balance, and you have realised what works best for you. Many are still on that journey.
DeleteThat would be "FINDING" the balance not ending it! Special check will drive me mad!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny I read it as 'finding' the first time and had to go back and see if it did say 'ending' it did!! So much for me being a ex-proof reader!!
DeleteSpell check is driving me mad with 'there' and 'their' at the moment. It's as though it knows I hate the wrong version being used and is purposefully switching what I type!!
Hi Sue,
ReplyDeleteI am SUCH an introvert. When I was younger, I didn’t know why I loved so much time alone to read, write, ponder and dream. As an adult it was a comfort to know that others were like me, too. I adore my family and friends, but I need a nice balance that includes a lot of peace and quiet.
It's good to know that so many of you, of us, know what each other means. We are on a very similar wavelength :-)
DeleteI like the idea of a simpler life. I've made my life more simple in a funny way. For 5 years I've worked from home self-employed. To simplify things I've gone back to the NHS on an employed basis 3 days a week. Some would say this isn't simple - but for me it takes away the stress of self-employment and working 7 days a week for less money than my new job. I'm looking forward to switching off for my 4 days at home. Baby steps.......
ReplyDeleteThat's all we can take, baby steps. As long as they're in the right direction to achieve what we need, that's all that's required. Lots and lots of baby steps ♥️
DeleteThat is me 100%
ReplyDeleteIt seems there are a lot of us :-)
DeleteWe have arrived at a Van for 4 nights at Thornwick Bay then we move location for the next 7 nights, it's great to get away, we will eat the food I've brought with us, this is as simple as I can manage at the moment. I've always enjoyed my own company xx
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful time :-)
DeleteSplitting a holiday between two locations sounds like a brilliant idea.
I like my own company too...although I wouldn't want it all the time. Our life now is as simple as we can make it for the time being. I think I might find it a bit difficult when husband has his foot operation and is more or less confined to barracks for 8 weeks and I can't go out as I can't drive...that'll test our relationship (and my patience!).
ReplyDeleteI think simplicity is a journey, sometimes it needs to be taken slowly one step at a time. Other times it's good to jump straight in and wait for the splash. It sounds as though you are doing what you can, as you can.
DeleteI can't imagine not being able to drive!
I learnt when I was 30, after ten years of being driven everywhere by my then husband. I knew my life would stagnate if I didn't do something to reclaim the freedom I could feel myself losing. So learning to drive was the first part of that. I spent the next twelve years ferrying him everywhere, which wasn't what I had planned ... but it gave me lots of confidence. How different my life would have been without that magic piece of paper!
People mostly annoy me (not all but a lot). There, I've said it!
ReplyDeleteExcept me though ... right? ;-)
DeleteOf course Sue!
DeleteSue I came across this quote today and immediately thought of you....
ReplyDelete“Without solitude, Love will not stay long by your side.
Because Love needs to rest, so that it can journey through the heavens and reveal itself in other forms.
Without solitude, no plant or animal can survive, no soil can remain productive, no child can learn about life, no artist can create, no work can grow and be transformed.
Solitude is not the absence of Love, but its complement.
Solitude is not the absence of company, but the moment when our soul is free to speak to us and help us decide what to do with our life.
Therefore, blessed are those who do not fear solitude, who are not afraid of their own company, who are not always desperately looking for something to do, something to amuse themselves with, something to judge.
If you are never alone, you cannot know yourself.
And if you do not know yourself, you will begin to fear the void.”
― Paulo Coelho, Manuscript Found in Accra
I usually just lurk in the background, but this rings so many bells with me! I’m very much the "odd" one in both my family and my neighbourhood...the one that doesn’t mix, so it’s nice to know it’s not just me. And as another nearly 59er I think the age thing is just that we get to a point when we need to be true to what we are...and that seems to be late fifties by the look of it!
ReplyDelete