Thoughts on Fall and Winter From Your Friendly Neighborhood Introvert

Come early to mid-September each year, I notice a shift in myself -- an energy emerging. Briefly today, I was thinking about how different we all can be at times. What is it about me that gets energized by the cooling of temperatures, the changing and falling of leaves, the coming of cold and even *maybe* (we did move back to Virginia, after all) a little snow? Then, I realized -- that makes a lot of sense, actually, in light of who I am. I’m a personal, one-on-one, cozy-in-the-corner-with-a-book, quiet-evening (or afternoon)-at-home-loving, introvert. And, the warm temperatures of summer tend to bring big, outdoor gatherings -- cookouts, reunions, etc... There is simply a lot more space for big gatherings of people at our homes when the weather is nice enough for people to be outside. I realized that this fact is probably what energizes me so much about the fall and winter -- because I get my energy from spending time alone or in small groups of friends. Big gatherings drain me at a much faster rate than nearly anything (except for a fussy baby -- I think that might drain me faster...ha!), but I love the smaller, more intimate, gatherings of fall and winter. I enjoy the BYOC (Bring Your Own Chair) outdoor summer gatherings, where chairs sit in huddles around a lawn, while folks chomp down on burgers off of a grill (such a great and practical way to feed a crowd). But, after the summer, full of outdoor, big-group fun, I SO look forward to the wind-down that is the fall and winter for me. Give me a bowl of soup and a few friends around our dining room table (preferably with a bottle of red wine), and I’m in my own little social heaven. I’m not going to lie -- even better is a bowl of soup, a few friends, and a bottle of wine at another friend’s house, where I don’t have to cook or clean. Ha! That’s a new development for me -- I loved cooking elaborate meals before C was born. Now, it just frustrates me because I would still love to do it, but there just isn’t the time. And, a meal that would have taken me 2 or 3 hours to make without a baby in the equation would take me all day to make now. One day I may be able to go back to that sort of cooking, but it doesn’t seem to happen these days. But, I digress...and ramble. If you’ve read all of this, I’m impressed, because I suppose it isn’t really very interesting to anyone but me since it is sort of about me, but I guess I was just surprised by the fact that I’m not sure I had ever connected those dots before -- why fall gives me such energy. That’s all.

PS...We are so thankful to be able to report that we had no damage from Irene, and our dead tree still stands out back. Hmm...now, about that dead tree...perhaps we should work on getting that gone before the next storm comes.