Social

   There is a misconception that people who are introverts are anti social. Introverts are often seen as people who shy away from others and prefer their own company to anyone else's.
  This is not entirely true. An introvert, by most of the definitions that I have seen, is someone who draws their energy from solitude and who finds dealing with lots of people to be draining. It has more to do with emotional energy than a like or dislike for people.
  I didn't really grasp the significance of this until today. I had gone to the Temple with my friend, Krista. Afterward we decided to have lunch. We chose a popular soup, sandwich and salad place that was not far away. While we were getting something to drink, Krista saw a woman she knew, something that happens frequently at that restaurant. We looked around for an empty table and didn't see any. Krista saw that her friend was sitting at a table with another woman we both knew. She suggested that we sit with them. I thought that was a good idea and we went over to sit down.
  Krista and the others started talking about things. I was quiet, partly because I didn't know what they were talking about and partly because I was eating. I tend to eat pretty fast. After I finished eating the subjects were changed to ones I knew. I said a few things here and there. One thing I noticed was that I was kind of rusty at conversing. I wondered why.
  Then it hit me. I have been working a lot. In fact, for the last few weeks it seems like I only come home to sleep, eat, shower and change clothes. Most days my interactions with people are limited to helping them to find something, answering their questions, counseling them on new medications, taking prescriptions over the phone and a little chatting with the tech staff. It's kind of like being on bread and water. You can survive on it, but you don't get all the nourishment you need.
  I'd attributed my irritability to lack of down time and overwork. I'd assumed I was suffering from acute knitting withdrawal and not enough alone time. I was. I was also suffering from a lack of purely social contact. Listening to other people talk about their lives and things that are important to them. Being able to talk about those things as well. I missed talking about other subjects besides drugs. I missed being simply Sophie.
  I thought about that on the drive home. I like to joke about being anti social, but it really isn't true. I do like to be around people and I care about them. There are just times when I need space and solitude to re-energize and rebalance myself.
  It turns about that I am a little social after all...........