Being an Introvert in a Time of Physical Distancing...

You know things are bad when even the introverts are struggling with physical distancing.

Friends, I am struggling big time!  There are so many factors leading to this.  

1) The only time I am alone these days is when I go to the bathroom or take a shower.  The rest of the day someone else is always around.  This does not bode well for any introvert because we are not given the time to be alone and recharge.

2) Even us introverts like to have social interaction on a regular basis.  The biggest thing is that we have time to be alone and recharge afterwards. 

3) We miss interacting with our favorite people in person.  Interacting over video chatting and video conferencing apps helps with this, but those of us who are huggers, it is hard to not be able to share the love that way with our peeps.

4) For those of us introverts with extroverted kids, this time is a special kind of hell because they are always on and want to be social but we just want to take a break and quietly read a book by ourselves.  To help alleviate this particular struggle I have been doing extra reading time with my extroverted 4 year old.  It is not the alone time I desperately crave but it is a calm time where we snuggle up while I read out loud to him.  And bonus, I get to give and receive hugs!

I feel bad for complaining about my 1st world, middle class introverted problems when so many people in the world have it soooooo much worse than I do.  All I'm being asked to do is stay inside with my family and figure out how to get them to do some school work each day while they are distance learning through May 4th.  I have a roof over my head, clothes to wear, food to eat, games to play, a husband who has a flexible schedule who can be with us more than some parents can be at this time and online communities to help with my social loneliness during this time.

My struggles stem from within.  Loneliness, anxiety, fear, frustration.  Yet, hope, love, empathy, and above all faith continue to guide me and all of us through this historic period in history.  What will we look back on and remember about this time?  I pray that I will remember the craziness and have amazing stories of love and compassion to share with my boys and their children, of the love and compassion I see people sharing with each other daily.  We'll all remember the struggles and sacrifices each of us made in our own way, but let's hope we have more stories we can laugh about than anything else.

Until next time friends!

Sincerely,

Megan