Do you think living alone is a big deal?

Pepper said:
You also said "My son lives a block from me and I see him all the time."
Nope, you're really not living alone. Don't mind me, I'm jealous! Wish I saw my son all the time. As it is I see him (and my grandson [sigh]) once or twice a week, but I'd like "all the time" better!
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I am happy to see him all the time, but another thought I have is that I wish he wasn't disabled and had a family of his own. When I am gone he will be all alone. There is nothing I can do about that.
 

I've lived alone most of my adult life,prefer it that way,nobody to answer to
My siblings live elsewhere younger brother in CT, older sister 'across the pond'
Yes,there are times when I feel lonely, I have a group of close friends over the yrs have become my 'extended family members'.I've mentioned in other posts about Marcia&her husband Dave,2 sons Alexei{my 'movie buddy} Dave Jr.They 'adopted' me 10yrs ago,they are my 'Bflo family',they live 2 blocks away.Marcia is my local emergency contact.I don't see them as often as I'd like to because of the virus,but we keep in touch via email/phone.Once in awhile on my walks,I'll stroll over with an article/book for them or just to say'Hi' always wearing my mask,social distancing
 
I am 75. I live alone with a cat. I find plenty to do to entertain myself. I enjoy being alone since most of my life it's turned out to be that way. I live in a senior apartment community of 10 duplexes so there are 20 apartment units. Two units are occupied by married couples and the other 18 are occupied by single women and single men. We do not socialize much here. Just wave when we see each other. Seems we are all content being alone and entertaining ourselves. But people who feel sad being alone may have come from a large family or had a lot of children and friends who now live far away or who have passed on. I feel sad for them. I don't want to live with anyone but a cat. A good cat is a joy and a comforting companion. I spend most days alone and speak to people when I go shopping or briefly speak to my next door neighbor. I read, sew, listen to music, watch TV, spend a lot of time on YouTube, try new recipes. Eating fresh and cooking from scratch requires a lot of food prep so that keeps me busy since I prepare all meals for myself. Making gifts for family members is something I enjoy doing. I only wish I had someone in my age group to go kayaking, hiking or camping with. A lot of people my age are not well enough or not interested in doing these activities.
 

@EvieB
Welcome to you. That's a very interesting and thoughtful post. Thanks for sharing your ideas with us, here, on forum threads.

It would help some of our readers if you would separate your posts, into sections with some spaces between a group of sentences.
Your writing is worth reading, and more would, if it was.

That's great that you enjoy doing things and are still able to do them, such as cooking fresh from scratch, and sewing, and that you have interesting ways to spend time, and the good company of your cat.

Many of us do enjoy our cat or dog, or other animal companion.
Again, welcome to the site. :)
 
I was widowed in 2005. We were married as teens and I thought my life was over at age 61.

We had a little Maltese dog we loved to pieces and when she died 10 days later I was beside myself with the horrible loneliness of being without them both. I think she just couldn't live without him.

I lived alone for two long years until I married Bowmore. I really hope I die first this time as I'm not a person who likes to be alone 24/7.
Sometimes I really feel like some "alone time" though and when I tell him that, he "gets it". I like to take off in my car alone and head for the beach to unwind.
 
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Gaer said:
So much understanding comes in one's aloneness. There is an unsatisfied discontent, yet, a tendency for complacency; both to be viligently fought.
One must always be growing, learning, studying, creating ,changing and re-inventing the self. For me, it's a time of great self-discovery. I have a feeling of expectancy. Everything can change in the blink of an eye! I must be prepared for anything!
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I greatly appreciate this wisdom, this peace with oneself which only comes from a great introspection and the deep knowledge of others.
Feeling of loneliness is a case of the need for deep and not superficial communication, a condition that has nothing to do with the person remaining alone, there are those who live alone without complaining about anything, and others feel very lonely and sad despite the presence of many people around it.
 
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I'm sure that it is difficult in many ways but must have an upside as well. I really look forward to times when my husband goes to visit his brother and I have 4 days of alone time. I know it's not the same and I probably wouldn't like it if I lived alone. However, I have many friends and lots of interests plus two fur babies for company, so maybe...😂
 
Nathan said:
After my last divorce(and before I re-married) I spent 7 years living alone, and learned to enjoy my own company, and not feel "deprived".

If I were to be alone again, there would be no rush to fill that vacancy...
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I have no plans to fill that vacancy in my life either. What God has planned is another matter. *fingers crossed that it will be good either way*
 
Bonnie said:
That's a sad situation for those that do that.... not fair to anyone.
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Not necessarily. When I was working, I always had dogs and of course left them during the day. They were house dogs and had the run of the house, even when I was gone. They had doggie doors to go out in the back yard when they needed to, each other to play with, plenty of water and couches to snooze on. They were always glad to see me when I returned. If one of them was ailing, I could run home at lunch and see how they were doing or give them medicine or whatever.

They certainly didn't seem to feel it was a sad situation or unfair in any way.
 
LindaB said:
I'm sure that it is difficult in many ways but must have an upside as well. I really look forward to times when my husband goes to visit his brother and I have 4 days of alone time. I know it's not the same and I probably wouldn't like it if I lived alone. However, I have many friends and lots of interests plus two fur babies for company, so maybe...😂
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I used to enjoy times when my husband was away, but back then I knew he was coming back. It's different now. And friends seem to trickle away when you're not half of a couple anymore. Some people stay away because they don't know what to say, somme assume that they'll somehow be bothering me (I hear that all the time). As for my fur baby, she's a strong 21lb cat and I can't manage to hold her to give her the pills she needs or get er into her carrier to haul her to the vvet.

Sorry...I don't mean to be so negative...but I can't think of anything I enjoy about living alone.
 
Autumn said:
I used to enjoy times when my husband was away, but back then I knew he was coming back. It's different now. And friends seem to trickle away when you're not half of a couple anymore. Some people stay away because they don't know what to say, somme assume that they'll somehow be bothering me (I hear that all the time). As for my fur baby, she's a strong 21lb cat and I can't manage to hold her to give her the pills she needs or get er into her carrier to haul her to the vvet.

Sorry...I don't mean to be so negative...but I can't think of anything I enjoy about living alone.
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I understand. I'm so sorry.
 
Butterfly said:
Not necessarily. When I was working, I always had dogs and of course left them during the day. They were house dogs and had the run of the house, even when I was gone. They had doggie doors to go out in the back yard when they needed to, each other to play with, plenty of water and couches to snooze on. They were always glad to see me when I returned. If one of them was ailing, I could run home at lunch and see how they were doing or give them medicine or whatever.

They certainly didn't seem to feel it was a sad situation or unfair in any way.
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@Butterfly ... referring to a dog locked inside an apartment or house all day alone .... that really happens too often.
And I feel sorry for any animal put in that situation.... Cats fare much better.
 
I lived alone for many years before Rick and I got together. I was in my 40s when we met. After almost 20 years together, it was a bit hard for me to readjust. But I have,
I rather like my solitude and alone time. Even when I move to the apartment, I will have the best of both worlds. I can go out to the common room to interact with people, and then go back home if I feel the need to be alone. I do find that now, due to Covid, I am appreciating interactions with others more, even craving it. But I still like going back inside too.
 

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