A lot of me time lately

I've been in London for a little over 2 weeks. Never have I had so much time alone.  I've started to get a taste of what life would be like alone. I mean really alone, not single alone.  Up until a few days ago, there was no TV, no internet, no friends, no phone. Just my books, my job, and myself.  What started out as a welcome break soon became a reality, an intimidating one at that. But I'm learning and this is good.

I'm learning I'm physically strong. For example, when someone offered me a television and I had no way to get it home, I figured it out. I called the cab, I carried it up stairs by myself, I put it together, lifted it on the stand, and settled down in front of it with a sigh of relief and satisfaction. 

I'm learning I can provide for myself. When I discovered that no restaurants delivered in my area at lunch time, I got off my lazy butt and made a day trip to Greenwich. There I scored some decent food, beautiful scenary, cheap books (I still prefer them to tv, which was a great reminder), and a new jacket.  All because I ventured out. On my own.

I'm learning to read a map.  Seriously, you have to in order to live here. I missed the grid of NYC at first but am starting to relish in discovering how to navigate the city.  It turns out I am not as directionally challenged as I thought, I just hadn't had to try because I always had a friend to ask.

While all this lessons are valuable, they aren't as great without friends to share them with.  My most important observation to date is that being single isn't what we should be worried about. With friends, life is sweet. Even without, it is on our own terms and a quest in search of finding them and ourselves.