Introverts: People-haters

I love cartoons. In fact, my family had an unspoken competition each Sunday after church to see who could change their clothes the fastest and consequently read the Sunday comics first. In a family of 9, if you didn't change quickly, it could be late in the afternoon before you actually got to read them. So, it was a cartoon I turned to when trying to describe my introversion.

Rest assured, I am neither shy nor do I hate people, but I must admit that today I am feeling a bit anti-social. This afternoon has been my only chunk of alone time in weeks, and I have loved every moment of it. I used to think that being an introvert was a bad thing, that it did mean you were shy and hated people and just wanted to hole up and be boring all day long, but then I realized that it's just where you get your energy, and I find mine from time by myself. Without a little alone time each day, I find myself feeling deflated, on edge, tense...and pretty much hating people (okay, not really, but you get the idea) until I can refuel.

So, here's to introversion, a time alone to think and be quiet, to read, to be outside, to leave the agenda behind, to be renewed. As my husband will attest, I'm a much nicer person once I've had some "Cara time." This is no new concept; even Jesus needed alone time and went off by himself. Interestingly, almost every time he went off by himself, he prayed to the Father. Perhaps my alone time needs to be less self-serving and more Christ-focused...

So, the moral of the story is: if I seem exhausted, overwhelmed, easily frustrated, or anxious, odds are that it's not that time of the month; I just hate people at the moment.