Table for One

"How many will there be?"

"One."

I wasn't planning on this being the topic of the blog I had on my to do list. It just sort of came to me as I finished dinner and came home.

Great thing about being single: I can eat what I want, when I want.

Downside of being single: I don't always have someone to go to dinner with me.

Wait. Maybe that's NOT a downside!

This year, I've noticed myself making the decision to just go to dinner. Mostly because when I get hungry, I put off eating and then get really hungry and want to eat NOW. However, when I first started doing it, I was a bit hesitant to do so.

I remember reading something at some point that said that every woman should know the feeling of dining alone - without a book, magazine, phone, etc. Just as an opportunity to be out. Most times, I bring something with me, because sometimes you just don't have any interesting people around you to observe.

But it always seems that wherever I go, I get a double take when I say "one". Or it takes a bit to get waited on because they think I might be waiting for someone.

In any case, I've always had a group of friends that I've hung out with, but always felt like the odd one out. But as I've been pushing my limits and getting to know myself a bit better, I'm not only comfortable going out on my own, but feel more a part of the group.

It's odd how these things happen, but I do think it makes a lot of sense to know yourself well and be able to spend quality time alone. We need to understand that people have different needs at different times - for me, that's been looking inward to be more comfortable with myself.

I know I can say that I'll be back out next week for my Friday night dinner.