The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself

Damn Mark Twain for being so right so much of the time.

There is an ongoing thread in 2006, about how Sarah gets back to the comfortable place where being Sarah is like wearing your favorite jeans and not like interviewing for a job you don't really want.
The thread goes like this:
a) Sarah says, enough of this BS. I gotta go find me if I'm ever going to be a good Sarah, good mom, good friend, good whatever.
b) Sarah taps her inner Maya Angelou to do things she never thought she'd do: drive a moving truck -- by herself, get her own place, make new friends, stake out some independence.
c) Sarah realizes that it's super-fun to hang out with her friends and go to work and play with her little girl at the neighborhood wading pool, but is eerily aware that she's not eating and only getting 4 hours of sleep a night because it's just too foriegn to be alone.
d) Sarah avoids being alone like the plague, because it's just too lonely in there when you aren't comfortable with yourself.
e) Sarah realizes she needs to get to know herself. Sarah proceeds to take self out on dates... quiet walks around Harriet, a solo trip to the record store, Dunn Brothers and the Sunday Strib on the front porch.
f) Sarah starts doing stuff she's never, ever done before... taking road trips on her own, talking to total strangers, buying a car by herself
g) Sarah continues to have awkward getting-to-know-you moments with herself.
h) Sarah realizes one day she has a pretty clear idea of who she is and drafts the uncompromisables.
i) Sarah starts wading through an upside-down world, and anticipating anxiety, instead finds strength and comfort inside herself.
j) Sarah realizes she's found comfort in herself again.
k) Sarah realizes the truth in the matter: Dad was right, life turns over at least 4 times in your 20s. This is time 4 , and Sarah couldn't be happier about the results.
l) In spite of ongoing and upcoming challenges, Sarah is hopeful, because she has the Sarah... and the Sarah is all she needs to make it work.