March 26th – National Solitude Day

National Solitude Day falls on March 26th. I did not make this up. Someone did, and whoever they were, they either had the house to themselves or they were very, very committed to the bit.

I take it seriously. I self-identify as the Maven of Me-Time. This is a title I gave myself, which is the best kind.

The thing about solitude when you live in Key West is that it requires planning. Everyone else comes here to relax. They save up vacation days, book flights months out, haul down here specifically to do nothing. Which means the island is full of people doing nothing together, loudly, in groups.

So while they’re all getting away, I’m trying to get away from them getting away. It creates a situation.

My National Solitude Day protocol is tight. Phone gets flipped over. Not silenced. Face down, like it did something wrong. If you text me, I’ll see it eventually, probably the next day. If you call, I won’t see it at all, because the phone is face down and I am not looking at it.

The plan is to do absolutely nothing, which sounds simple and is not. Doing nothing is a skill. Most people sit down to do nothing and immediately think of 7 things they should be doing instead. I’ve been training for this. I’m ready.

The mid-day nap is non-negotiable. It’s the centerpiece. Everything else orbits the nap. The morning exists to make the nap inevitable. The afternoon exists to recover from how good the nap was.

I will be, for exactly one day, gloriously unavailable.

The film permits will still be there on the 27th. The emails will wait. The Florida Keys will still be here. They’ve been here longer than I have.

If you need me, don’t.