It was a slow, rainy weekend. I knew going in there would be little in the way of excitement or plans. A little Thanksgiving prep (grocery shopping and cleaning and planning), a lot of laundry and fort-building. It was quiet time, which everyone needed. But I’m always surprised by how lethargic this type of time makes me feel. I suppose it has to do with social interaction. Being in the house and not interacting with many people makes me feel completely drained — I suppose I am more on the extroverted side after all! It’s a huge change from this summer, where we would find ourselves surrounded with neighbors and friends at the playground even when we didn’t plan official social engagements. I would always walk back with Andrew feeling like my energy had been renewed (and my mood).
That’s not to say that spending time with just my immediate family is not completely and totally gratifying — it is!!! But after a few days of indoor time, I crave a different kind of banter. I think I’ve always been that way, becoming crabby as a child if kept indoors too long. I’m still not sure if it has more to do with fresh air or fresh people. It fascinates me, this introvert-extrovert thing, and I tend to believe the “continuum” theory of it, that we fall somewhere in the middle on a scale from extrovert ——— to ——— introvert. Anyway, Emil and I got out of the house on Saturday morning for a little Mama-Emil time at the Science Center (his choice), then I took Oliver out for hot chocolate on Sunday morning. Both were really gratifying experiences, as I rarely have the opportunity to give one child my full attention. They are each so different in such wonderful ways, all three of them! I really enjoy learning what is going on inside their heads.
Really looking forward to the holiday season now! Hope you enjoyed your weekend and are getting those fat pants ready for some pie!
yay for fat pants and oversized sweaters 🙂 have a great thanksgiving!
At some point in the school year, we would ask our high school students to take a couple different personality tests and do some reflection. One we use is this one: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp.
I like this style because the results are reported as a percentage, in line with the idea of a spectrum. The only thing is that I have never taken a personality test where I was comfortable answering YES or NO to every question; there are always a few that I have trouble committing to. That is probably some kind of personality trait indicator in and of itself . . .
Anyway, last spring I registered as slightly more extroverted than introverted for the first time ever, and I seriously had a minor personality crisis right there in the classroom. It was really liberating though!
Cheers to slow weekends before the busy “people” season commences!
Lauren, I could not relate to you any more! I am so energized and happy being outside in the fresh air and near people, really, and completely drained when in the house for too long! When it is cold or rainy I do exactly what you do– scoot out with a kid or two. 🙂 I just love your blog!