Monday, November 11, 2013

Crawling in a Hole

There's a saying I've heard a lot in my family. It goes pretty much like this: "I'm so [fill in the blank yourself] that I'd just like to crawl in a hole and pull the hole in after me."

It usually means being frazzled to the point of desperately needing some alone/quiet time. I think introverts, of which there are many in my family, reach this point more easily and often than extroverts do. Too many people, too much activity, too many responsibilities and our nervous systems become frayed and we just need to get away to regenerate. I even react to things like shopping in WalMart, where I get sensory overload.

Sometimes it's not an excess of people and activity. It's a mood that falls upon me that shuts off the desire for company, activity, or even outside news.  That's where I have been the past few days, despite the fact that I spent a day traveling to Rapid City with my daughter and granddaughter for medical appointments on Thursday, I went to the movie Thor with the Birdies on Friday, Megan spent part of the weekend with me and we enjoyed a meal out together on Saturday, and on Sunday I taught a Bible class. I always appreciate the time spent with my family and teaching the two classes I do each week are important to me.

But after each of these things I am content to climb into my hole. While I am often a dedicated follower of the news, I have given myself a vacation from most news coverage for the last few weeks. I check it from time to time, but am enjoying ignoring things I can do nothing about.

I won't stay in my hole permanently or exclusively. That is not good for anyone, not even an extreme introvert. But I will always treasure time with books and doing my own thing. That is one thing that aging and retirement have given me plenty of. I try to guard against retreating too far, however!

Excuse me now--I feel my hole calling me.

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