Mothers’ Day
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
(Matt 11:28)
I’m not very good at resting, although I think my family will tell you otherwise. But the theme of rest has been coming up time and again over the past few months. Like God is trying to tell me something or something.
I’m an introvert. To the extreme.
Most people think of extroverts as people who are outgoing and gregarious and like meeting new people, and introverts as people who are more private, quiet, shy.
While this often is true, there’s another school of thought that defines these characteristics differently:
Extroverts draw energy from the people around them. They feel more energetic after being with a group.
Introverts are the opposite. We like people (well, certain people, anyway). But it takes a lot of energy to be around others, especially extroverts. And the way to recharge is to have
quiet
time
alone.
I’ve been on-the-go with a lot of people around all week…an introvert’s nightmare.
I went on a business trip and led a lot of discussion about a lot of business-y things. I talked to people on four different airplanes. We attended an hors d’ouvre reception and a fashion show for the school’s fashion design program where Mash made her debut as a runway model. We went to see The Avengers (awesome!). We met the parents of Masha’s prom group at a local park for pre-prom pictures. I had dinner out with Mark. We played cards with a couple from our small group. We went to church. We visited with Mark’s family for Mother’s Day…..Ack!
So for my Mother’s Day gift, I took a nap. Far later in the afternoon than I usually do. And boy did it feel good.
Even after the nap and then finishing a great book that I’ll tell you about later this week, I’m still just too tired to string a series of words together into anything very profound.
So…..yeah. Here are some pictures of my weekend highlights instead:
Fashion Show
Prom
And Simon steals the photo shoot with his “business”
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About Christine
I am a writer, a project manager, and a corporate refugee with a heart for orphans around the world. My two daughters were adopted from Ukraine at ages 12 and 14. I post about writing, chasing dreams, and making a difference in the world, and sometimes I share fun snippets of fiction in-progress.
Girl, I’m right there with you. I’m a fellow introvert. I work in a job where I’m around a LOT of people ALL DAY LONG, and then I spent this entire weekend with family. I love my family, and we had a lot of fun, but I didn’t get the down time (i.e. quiet, alone time) I need to fully rest. I’m trying to get myself psyched up for a Monday morning now.
AMEN!! I love them all and wouldn’t sacrifice any of the time with them, but it’s rough to not have enough “recovery” time!
I’m the same way. Total introvert; I love people, but golly they do exhaust me!!
And that last prom photo = hilarious! 😉
We couldn’t resist taking it…as soon as he started running around back there, we knew it was coming!
Naps rock don’t they!
They do. I’ve been meaning to try Michael Hyatt’s trick of napping with my arm hanging over the edge of the couch and holding a set of keys. When they drop, it’s time to wake up.
A nap is the best Mother’s Day gift I can think of! The perfect end to a great weekend, sounds like. Awesome pictures, too! Especially the last one! I don’t have the data to back it up, but I’m fairly certain that Americans are the only ones who find it abnormal to rest in the middle of the day!
Kudos from one introvert to another!
I think Germans might be with us. I think Spain has it right….
I found your blog through the Killer Tribes site.
I’m right there with you! I LOVE being around people but desperately NEED to be alone to recharge. The longer I go without that time, the longer it takes to recharge me, it seems.
It sounds like the nap was a perfect Mothers Day “celebration.”
Welcome, Sarah! Welcome again to Killer Tribes…I’m enjoying your blog too!! And yes, the nap was sheer perfection!
(side note: anyone who’s interested in local/organic/fair trade eating, check out Sarah’s new blog: thesocialeater.org Great stuff going on over there!!)
We could learn a great deal from other societies regarding rest and “downtime”. We as a culture go out of our way to be connected and busy all the time, whether really necessary or not. Unfortunately it becomes expected. Sometimes no phone, text, email or even anyone else is a requirement in sanity. Despite what everyone thinks, the other stuff can wait, even if only for a couple of hours.
Well, I expect you to stay connected all the time. Boat season is coming up, and I need my emergency phone support to be available!