I think a long road trip with the kids paired with little sleep got the best of me and I melted today. I had reached my boiling point and I needed to take a mental health day.

I called a girlfriend in desperation and she offered to take me to lunch. I quickly arranged for a babysitter and off I went. But as lunch came to an end I realized I wasn’t ready to return to real life just yet. I needed more time to veg, and I longed to see a chick flick. But I had no one to accompany me. I thought about my other alternatives, but decided it was chick flick or nothing. So off I went, solo to the Silver Screen.

Let me just state that I am not the kind of person that welcomes alone time. My grandmother used to threaten to send me to a convent where I’d have to take a vow of silence because I was a serious chatterbox. I think long silent moments are more awkward than a lanky 12-year-old girl. I enjoy occasional alone moments, but I’d never dine alone in a restaurant, and the thought of going to a movie alone didn’t sound all that great, either. Who would I turn to and look at during the funny moments? Who would I discuss it with after? It just seems really wrong to me to go to a movie alone, but worse than that was the thought of going home before I felt like I got a break from the summertime bickering and mess-making.

With my popcorn (with extra butter) and my giant-sized Diet Coke in hand I headed into the theatre and was surprised to find I wasn’t alone in going alone. There were lots of others sitting throughout the theatre unaccompanied. After about 10 minutes I stopped thinking about how much fun it would be to be there with my girlfriends or my hubby and I enjoyed the movie. After the show, which was far more enjoyable than I expected for a chick flick, I felt like I’d conquered some fear. Now, it’s not like a showed up to the prom stag or took a trip to a tropical island all by myself. But I did find the solitude to be more rejuvinating than I’d imagined it could be and it was just what I needed to recharge my batteries and tackle the rest of my week.

Question: What’s your favorite thing to do on your own?