Turn the Radio Off

Unlock the Superpowers of Driving in (Mostly) Silence

Photo by Cory Bouthillette on Unsplash

I haven’t had much alone time since 2020. I rarely go anywhere by myself, either.

My showers only take about six minutes most days. I timed it because I was using Whitestrips, doing the whole self-care, multi-tasking thing that’s really just basic human maintenance and shouldn’t be considered “self-care” at all, but anyway…

That’s not a lot of time alone without distractions. And if someone else is home, I am not going to sing in there. That’d leave me feeling about 10 times more naked than the actual shower. Showers get so much credit for creating/allowing eureka moments, but there are other ways to get those that don’t involve using up all the hot water and hogging the bathroom.

It sounds like I’m going off on another tangent, but I’m not. The singing is related, too. Don’t worry.

Today, my husband’s at the office. Daughter’s at school. Dog’s oblivious to everything and just hangs out in her crate most of the time, so I barely even remember she exists during the workday until she starts barking in her sleep.

In most cases, this alone time is bliss.

I don’t usually leave the house on days like this until I absolutely have to (to pick up the kiddo) because I love to soak up the quiet time. But today was the last day to grab my library books that were old hold, and there was just enough left on my Starbucks card to sneak in a Cinnamon Caramel Cold Brew to savor alone.

So I went.

In true Overstimulation-Is-My-Middle-Name fashion, I kept the radio off even though there was no one else in the car to talk to.

And I sang.