Holidays

I know I have been MIA for a while. It is due to the holidays. I find them physically and mentally exhausting. I love my family and despite what they think I love being around them; it just drains me. I have had the energy for this in the past because I normally take 2-3 weeks off of work during this season. That gives me the time I need to recuperate. I did not do that this year because I am trying to replenish the leave I used for the wedding and the Hubs injury. I honestly did not even realize that I "needed" that time off until I did not take it this year.

It is not just the family I find draining. It is all the Christmas music, shopping, twenty-four seveness of it that drains me. And since I did not, I have been drained and now I am sick. I have not updated my blog, cooked, really cleaned (hanging my head in shame), or anything for weeks. I think since Thanksgiving. I am surprised the Hubs is still here now that I think about it.

In coming to this realization, I realize that I am an introvert. An introvert is defined as "
(psychology) a person who tends to shrink from social contacts and to become preoccupied with their own thoughts". Those who know me may say DUH, but I did not see myself this way. I do love going out, having fun, etc. etc., but I become drained from those outings and need my time alone to recover. Nothing wrong with that (in my opinion anyway). And now that I understand my psychoses I can handle them in a positive way. I will definitely take time off around the holidays in the future. I know I need it for my mental and physical health.

Oh yeah, and since I love to read (probably a quality of an introvert) "The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World" is added to my reading list. Yes, I am branching out from my crime, serial killer reading.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and Kwanzaa Everyone!!