Ms. Kulka, Party of One

“How’ve you been, Pauline?”

“Busy. The good kind of busy. Busy is good!”

That’s usually how most of my catch up conversations go, either in elevators or fast walking away in some loud pair of heels.

Since my last post I’ve been to Atlanta, New York, Boston and Phoenix for work, I’ve hosted my best friend’s bachelorette party in Scottsdale, and now I’m writing to you from poolside in Miami on a girls trip. Somewhere in there, I’ve sprinkled in a few days in sweet home Chicago.

Looking at the last few weeks there have been a lot of lovely little moments. And while these moments have been lovely, they’ve all blended together. Which is why I haven’t written. 

But, there was one moment that really stands out in the last couple of weeks that I feel compelled to write about.

It was the moment that I was completely alone, and had nothing to do and nowhere to be.

And it was pretty awesome.

I genuinely love spending time with myself, and for those of you who know me or watch my instagram stories (I suppose on some level it’s all the same), you know that I’m always with someone- my teammates, my family, my gal pals.

See, as much as I like being alone, I find my joy in spending time with the people I love and I do my best to give my free time to those people.

I am the most extroverted introvert you will ever meet.

One night in Phoenix, I had a free evening between meetings, so I decided to take myself out.

I’m not one to sit alone in a hotel room (life is short, and beauty and youth are fleeting), so I made a reservation at one of Scottsdale’s lovely resort restaurants, put on my favorite delicate gold hoops and a killer pair of heels, and went out on the town.

There’s something incredibly empowering and sexy about pulling up to a restaurant, throwing a valet boy the keys to your Dodge Charger and walking up to the hostess stand, “Ms. Kulka- table for 1.”

During my solo travels in Italy, Spain, and Nepal, I learned to enjoy dining alone. The key is to put your phone away and quiet your mind.

Revel in the role of being mysterious, and if people want to assume you’re a celebrity in rehab or that you got stood up- let them. People will assume that you’re lonely, and that’s okay. There is a difference between being lonely and being alone.

Being alone is a beautiful thing.

Plus, waiters take real good care of you when they think you got stood up. 

Anyhoo, that’s what I did for an evening. I savored slow bites of tuna tartare, sipped a G&T and watch the sunset over Camelback mountain. All in my own party of one.

It gave me the opportunity to still my mind, be grateful and be present. And that, was the loveliest thing.

If you, dear reader, end up doing this and loving it- shoot me a note, I would love to hear about it!