Stories Along The Way

Today, I feel lonely.

There really isn’t a beautiful way to say it.

Nothing terrible happened today. I’m not sitting here crying over some tragedy. Life is simply moving around me like it always does, and somehow, in the middle of an ordinary day, I feel alone.

Sometimes I wonder how you can have people in your life and still feel lonely.

You can have family. You can have children you love more than anything. You can have coworkers, acquaintances, responsibilities, a home, and a life you’ve worked hard to build—and still wish there were someone sitting beside you at the end of the day.

Someone to ask, What do you want to do tonight?

Someone to go get dinner with.

Someone to sit outside with and talk about absolutely nothing.

Someone to reach for your hand.

Someone who chooses your company simply because they want to be with you.

Maybe that’s the part of loneliness that hurts the most. It isn’t always about physically being alone. Sometimes it’s about wanting to feel chosen.

As we get older, life changes. Children grow up and begin building lives of their own. Friends become busy with their families and routines. People you once talked to every day somehow become people you talk to occasionally.

And one day, you look around and wonder:

Where does that leave me?

I don’t want to spend the rest of my life waiting for someone to make my life meaningful. I know I have to continue living, trying new things, meeting people, and finding happiness within myself.

But I also think it’s okay to admit that sometimes I want companionship.

I want love.

I want laughter in my house that isn’t coming from the television.

I want someone to say, Get ready. Let’s go somewhere.

I want someone to share the ordinary moments with, because sometimes those are the moments that matter the most.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll wake up feeling completely different.

But today?

Today, I feel lonely.

And instead of pretending I don’t, I’m going to allow myself to say it.

Because maybe somewhere, someone else is sitting in their living room tonight feeling exactly the same way.

And perhaps knowing we aren’t the only ones feeling lonely makes us feel just a little less alone.