I fondly reminisce about the perfect weekend. In an ocean-side tourist town, I lazily passed the time, stayed abed late, walked along the beach, and ate by candlelight. And felt, by Sunday night, the lovely warm glow of a romantic weekend tryst. However, I was alone the whole time, having gone off to get some peace and quiet by myself. I was shocked by the result!
My surprise was a happy one, though. I was delighted that many of the marvelous feelings experienced during a romantic getaway don’t necessitate a partner—they come from the getaway itself. (Boy, publishing this info is going to thwart a lot of seducers.)
You may want to try it. But I’ll warn you, people kept asking where I lived (it’s just something one asks in a tourist town). When I’d respond, “San Francisco,” they were shocked, because S.F. was just over the bridge. I was only a half hour from my apartment! No one could fathom my spending a holiday weekend so close to home, let alone by myself. I didn’t care. Besides, they kept saying, “I’m jealous” with immense longing in their voices. They so wanted what I was having.
Don’t wait for love if you have no mate. Love yourself and do it now. Make memories of fabulous holiday weekends with or without a significant other now. You might even meet your soul mate while you’re gallivanting about. (And I got to make lots of folks jealous, instead of just one significant other.)
Afterthoughts: Okay, so enjoying life with or without a mate is relevant to everyone. Even if we have a significant other, we need to be happy in ourselves, or we can’t be fully happy with our beloved. Romantic Weekend, Straight Up is excerpted from my book, to be released fall, 2011.
