The suitcase was open on the bed, the clothes were folded, and the trip was waiting.

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The only thing missing was someone to go with me.

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For years, that might have been enough to make me close the suitcase, cancel the plans, and tell myself, “Maybe next year.” But this time, I stood there and realized something that changed the way I see my life:

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I don’t have to put my life on hold while I wait for somebody else to be available.

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Girlfriends and family aren’t always ready to travel when you’re ready. They have jobs, families, responsibilities, finances, schedules, and sometimes they simply don’t want to go where you want to go. And that’s okay.

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But what I’ve learned after 60 is this: their availability doesn’t have to determine whether I experience the life I want to live.

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There was a time when taking a trip meant coordinating with somebody, waiting for somebody, or deciding not to go because nobody could go with me. I can remember putting off trips because I didn’t have a travel partner.

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“I’ll wait until somebody can go with me.”

“I don’t want to go by myself.”

“Maybe we can plan it for next year.”

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And sometimes next year came and the trip still didn’t happen.

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Not anymore.

At this stage of my life, I am the plan.

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If there is somewhere I want to go, something I want to see, or an experience I want to have, I’m learning to pack the bag and go.

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And somewhere along the way, I discovered something else: I actually enjoy my own company.

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That may sound simple, but it took me a long time to get here. I know myself better now. I love myself differently now. I can sit at a restaurant alone, wander through a new city, enjoy a beautiful view, take myself shopping, order dessert, come back to my room, put on my pajamas, and enjoy the quiet.

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There is freedom in not needing somebody beside you to validate the experience.

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Of course, traveling alone requires me to be smart. I pay attention to where I’m staying, how I’m getting around, and what’s happening around me. I share my itinerary with people I trust. Traveling solo doesn’t mean traveling carelessly.

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And being able to travel alone doesn’t mean I don’t want companionship.

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It means companionship is no longer a requirement for me to live.

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There are still trips I would love to take with someone special. There are places where I would love to have a hand to hold, someone sitting across the table from me, or somebody beside me saying, “Look at that.”

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But until that person comes, I refuse to leave an empty seat beside me and call it a reason not to go.

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That might be one of the greatest gifts of getting older. You begin to understand how precious time really is.

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We spend so much of our younger years waiting.

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Waiting until the kids get older.

Waiting until work slows down.

Waiting until we have more money.

Waiting until somebody is available.

Waiting until the timing is perfect.

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At 60+, I’m learning that sometimes the perfect time is simply the time I still have.

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So if the trip has been sitting in your saved folder…

If you keep looking at the resort…

If you’ve checked the airfare five times…

If you’ve been saying, “I wish somebody would go with me”…

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Maybe this is your season to stop waiting.

Start small if you need to. Take the day trip. Book the weekend getaway. Visit the city you’ve always wanted to see. Learn what it feels like to wake up somewhere new and realize you got yourself there.

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You might discover that traveling alone isn’t lonely at all.

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Sometimes it feels a whole lot like freedom.

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Pack the bag. Take the trip.

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Your life is already happening.

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And you don’t need to wait for somebody else to start living it.