“I want to be alone.”

It would appear Greta Garbo was not the only one. A new survey found 71 percent of moms say the thing they want the most on Mother's Day is some ALONE time.

When we play our game Chatterbox at a Company of Women meeting, one of the questions is what would you do if you had a week alone?

I usually joke that the mothers in the group start to hyperventilate.  But it would seem while having time alone is a fantasy of many, it’s also a bit scary.  

If this wish came true, what would you do?  I’d get myself a cup of coffee, choose a book I have been wanting to read… and finish, and chill out with my book in hand.  No interruptions. No people or dogs to feed.  Just me and my book.

It’s the finish part that is key.  I have stacks of books on my bedside table, but most have never been opened.  Or I’ve dipped in, started to read, never to return.

While I fully intend to get into a book at the weekend, somehow that hardly ever happens.  And as for reading on a weekday – well that just seems too decadent to imagine.

But what would you do… maybe garden, shop, go to a spa, or a long walk?  Somehow doing something for ourselves seems selfish but we need to get over ourselves.

And back to the scary element.  Sometimes I think we don’t want to be alone with our thoughts, as that could be a dangerous place to visit.

Having time alone is such a rarity that I suspect many of us would struggle at first.  We are so used to others placing their demands on us, to putting our needs last.

At least on Mother’s Day we have permission to be pampered and I for one intend to sit back and let it happen.

In my case, my husband and daughters are cooking dinner for me.    Stay tuned, but you can be sure that regardless of what it tastes like, I will be ringing their praises because who knows, this foray into cooking could catch on