All alone

How often as mothers, as wives and employees and house owners and responsible citizens, volunteers, friends, daughters, sisters, role models and all the other guises that we wear do we get to be alone? I mean truly alone, with no-one to answer to, give attention to, do things for?
I know hat in my life it's very very rare. I'm not saying I don't want to have these responsibilities, in fact I love most of them and I'm picky about how I spend my time nowadays. Although it has to be said, I definitely like some more than others and there's certainly some I wouldn't do if it wasn't vital or legal! However, just occasionally to be totally alone, if only for an hour and half whilst one of the dependants is climbing walls in an industrial warehouse and eating birthday cake, means the world to me.
Today I'm lucky that the industrial warehouse happens to be 20 minutes from my happy place. The hour and a half gave me time for a swim in the sea, a can of Dr Pepper, my toes in the sand, the sun on my bare skin and some quiet solitude. Just enough to fill my cup for a another weeks of life's responsibilities, pleasures and multiple hat wearing.