Solitude and balance

I love being alone. There is something about living alone for a few days that puts life into perspective and cleanses the soul. It does for me anyway. When a house that is usually full of the noise of domestic activity falls silent, it brings me back into myself and all of a sudden there are new possibilities; I see things differently. There is the opportunity for work to be done when I feel like it, not when it is usually done. I don't mind telling you that the past couple of months have been really tough going. Since Hanno's accident and subsequent illnesses, many trips out to the hospital and therapist, dealing with my work and his, and trying to write, has been exhausting and on the razor's edge of impossible. We got through it by knowing that life would return to what we think of as normal when the time was right for it.

This is a winter shawl I'm making for myself using leftover bits of organic cotton.

These months have been a valuable reminder to me that life is not always sunshine and cups of tea in the garden. The easiness of life is balanced out, sooner or later, by the not so easy. There is always balance.

Just Frankie, the tea and me.

So where is Hanno? He's driving to Sydney with his relatives. They'll stay at Manly beach for a few days,  have a few days in the Blue Mountains and then come home again. After a few days here, they'll all be off again, with Jens and Cathy as well, up to the Carnarvon Gorge, Longreach, the Whitsunday Islands and through Gladstone to see Shane, Sarndra and Alex. And all the time I will be here doing what I do and enjoying the solitude. There is no place I would rather be, no finer house, no cleaner air to breathe, nowhere better to wake up.

Looking over from my reading spot, the back garden at 4pm.

Today the travellers left at 5.30am and I fussed outside over the chooks and garden for an hour or so. After breakfast of crumpets and tea I left the dishes in the sink and started organising myself for some writing I should have started six weeks ago. I worked for a few hours, then sorted through some fabric and yarn before Cathy came over and we went to the post office to send off a book to Kuwait. Back home again I read for a while and although I had a few things I could be doing, I  just ambled along, enjoying the silence and knowing that for dinner all I would be cooking was two poached eggs and some toast. Life's like that. One day it's chicken and vegetable casserole for six, the next it's poached eggs for one. There is always balance.

I am an introvert and I appreciate and enjoy solitude. Do you like being alone?

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