It’s okay to be alone. Many homeless people are - even when they are part of a family. It is okay to be a “party of one” at a restaurant, to take up a table for four when the buffet line is crowded. It is okay to see a movie without turning to comment to a friend about something you noticed or thought or found immensely funny. It’s okay to laugh out loud even if there is no one to hear.

A friend of mine shared this marvelous YouTube video with me on “It’s okay to be alone,” and I sighed happily. Someone else gets it too.

Someone else understands that rain on the roof of a car at night is comforting because it means the police will leave me alone all night. They hate to get out in a downpour to roust the homeless from an all night parking spot. Okay, maybe she doesn’t understand that - but she sounds like she’d understand the patter and ping of rain bouncing off a car roof, the thunder of a downpour, the hiss and trickle as a thunderstorm fades into a steady drizzle.

Someone else understands that park benches, a rock in the sun, a spot under a shade tree on a hot day, the solitude of a shower - time stolen to soap and soak - is precious.

I’m so glad to have seen this and so happy to share it.