The Only Child Syndrome

Being an only child made me different as a kid. There were not too many like me running around.

Being an only child makes me different as an adult. I NEED alone time. I think I enjoy my alone time more than most. I go to movies alone. I go to eat alone. I go to shop alone. I relish my alone time. I'm not saying I need to be in solitary confinement or anything. But If I reach the end of the day and have had no alone time I start to go a little nuts.

When I worked from home I was alone for 10 hours. It was nice. Yet a little too much. By the end of the day I was definitely ready for some human contact. Now, I'm with a group of people all day long. My only alone time comes at night when I put Brynlee down and breathe that big heavy sigh of relief. Ah. Me time. That is what I think to myself. If it's a night when Jimmy is home I usually sneak off upstairs and sit by myself for a little while. He respects my need for alone time, and I so appreciate that.

Next week is my spring break and I'm super excited. I'm going to do some cleaning, but I'm going to do some couch surfing as well. And I'm going to do some alone time on top of that. I CANNOT wait!

Brynlee is still learning personal boundaries. Sometimes she is so clingy and all over me that is makes me crazy. I just need a little space. Last night I had my idea of an ideal Friday night.

I sat at home alone with my book, watching Sports Center and eating Whoppers. It was awesome. Maybe not to everyone else, but to me it was perfect.

Brynlee has pink eye... again. Yes she just stopped her eye drops on Tuesday and she has it again. Ugh. I'm not sure if it's the same case and it never died or if she got re infected or what. But she was quarantined to the house today until she is not contagious anymore. So I went on my own to run some errands while Jimmy stayed home with her.

I loved it. I actually found myself getting giddy as I walked to the car thinking that I would be alone for a little while.

I don't think this means that I'm cold, or un loving. I love my family very much. But as someone who had a ton of alone time growing up, I need it. I was raised with it and it's part of me. I wonder if other only children are the same way. If I knew any I'd ask them...