Dining Alone

I have been contemplating life alone. Being alone does not frighten me. I am not an easily frightened person. Being alone with 2 dogs is a piece of cake. I can earn money. I can pay the bills. I can maintain my house - or hire the necessary people to do it.

The one thing that I cannot do?

I cannot eat in a restaurant alone.

This is a holdover from my childhood. My childhood had rules, especially for "ladies".

A lady's name was in the newspaper 3 times in her life: when she was born, when she was married, and upon her death.

A lady did not sweat. Horses sweat, men perspired, and ladies "glowed".

A lady did not leave the house without appropriate clothing - and this included foundation garments.

A lady did not open a door if she was accompanied by a gentleman, regardless of his age.

A lady did not light her own cigarette if she was accompanied by a gentleman and he was of age.

A lady did not smoke while walking, only when she was seated.

A lady did not eat alone in a restaurant.

I have broken a lot of these rules. Number one went by the wayside upon my second marriage. I live in the panhandle of Texas. Unless "glow" can run down your face, neck, and plaster your clothes to your body, I have sweated. I no longer wear appropriate foundation garments, in part because they no longer make them. I do not, however, wear my pajamas to the Walmart. This is a matter of pride. I do not open my own door when I am accompanied by a gentleman, and this includes my grandson. Some days, it also includes my daughter, as both of us stand in front of a door. She generally gives in first as a matter of respect for her elders. I no longer smoke but when I did, I never smoked while walking and never lit my own cigarettes.

I do not eat in restaurants alone. Even when my husband and I were driving truck for a living, I did not eat in restaurants alone. If we were at a truckstop and I was hungry and he was sleeping, either I got food from the deli section of the truckstop or ordered food to go from the restaurant and took it back to the truck. This holds true for road trips that I have made. Several times when I helped deliver my grandson to his dad for vacations, we ate in restaurants on the leg of the trip that Moose was with me. On the opposite leg of the trip, I either ate from the deli sections, ate chips, or went through a drive-thru (not possible in a semi).

I know that I can invite friends to eat with me if I want to go out but sometimes I just like to be alone and not have to talk.

What do you think? How do you handle this, if you do?