When the Extrovert Becomes an Introvert

I don't know how or when it happened.

In high school, college, and most of my married life; I was a joiner.

I joined IN...

I loved to go to social gatherings, meetings, church events, parties, dinner at friends' or our home.  I loved to be part of whatever was going on in the community.

And, then a few years ago, I wanted to be left ALONE.

Be by myself.

Be sort of anonymous.

It all seems rather strange from what I was previously......

But, I'm reading letters to my parents that were written by me over 23 years of raising children....and in almost EVERY letter I proclaim how B.U.S.Y. life is!

How hectic our schedule, how involved with church, school, community each of the 7 of us was.

So, maybe, just maybe, I got burned out.

I don't know.

But, I've definitely changed in my very soul - in my very being.

And, truthfully, it sort of scares me because it's not good to lose sociability...which I haven't yet, but it is true, that I'm content most of the time, to be solitary.  I'm grateful for RAH, of course.  And he fulfills my social needs very well.  We have a good time together.

My neighbor, DC, does not like to be alone.  Her daughter and grandchildren live close by and they do everything together: shopping, vacations, trips, movies, eating out, swimming, etc.  She is always with her family.  And, it does make me a bit jealous because none of my family lives close by...I yearn for connection to family.

BUT, having said that, I still do like my space.

I hope that's not wrong or unhealthy.

Someday, I'll probably regret my solitary ways...but for now, I like the way life is.  I am busy, productive, serve in the church....

And, it suits me!

Cocky or Confident

Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between these two opposite characteristics;

one is a positive trait, the other not so much so.

Nate has a good job; is upward bound career-wise; has a great family with a wonderful wife and very good children.

Sometimes he seems COCky, but then, maybe he is just CONfident in his abilities.

He has a lot of ability, so why shouldn't he express those?

In college there was a girl who seemed cocky, but she confided in me that she really suffered greatly from feelings of insecurity.  Perhaps her supposed-cockiness was just her way of compensating for her feelings of inadequacy.  So maybe cockiness is just really a shield.

I admire confident people who trust in their abilities.

I love to meet confident CHILDREN.

I also admire people who are humble.

My oldest grandson is very competent, yet he's also very humble.  He's quite remarkable because he is very talented, intelligent, yet humble about his accomplishments.  He has the perfect blend of confidence infused with humility....a great combination.

Can a person be confident without being cocky?

Of course they can.

But, most people aren't - those people are very rare.

Back to the Fifties

Remember the days of television antennae?

Every home had one on the roof.....

They blew over in the wind; and television reception was poor until dad got up on the roof and straightened it out.......

Well, we are back to the future...

Yep, that's right...we now have a television antenna on our roof!

BUT.........

and here's the best part...

NO MORE HUGE CABLE BILLS!

It has taken us a long time to arrive at this point.

We've talked about it for months.

And, today, we did it.

Okay, now to do something about our HUGE phone bill!

Food Wars

"Starch, starch, starch: beans, rice, pasta and be careful not to eat many nuts or avocados and absolutely no fish or meat or dairy products and no oils or margarines of any kind."  Dr. John McDougall

"Meats with fat; almost all fish; oils, butter, eggs, dairy, cheeses are all good for you." Dr. Atkins

"Whole foods, plant-based.  Absolutely NO dairy, meats, fish.  Avocados and nuts are good, as well as whole grain breads." Dr. T. Colin Campbell

"NO Grains or starches."  Dr. Joseph Mercola

"Eat lots of real dairy products, grass-fed beef, fish, organic fruits and vegetables from local farmers, and real chocolate."  Nina Planck

It's all so confusing.  I feel a little like Joseph Smith must have felt when he listened to preachers talk about religion.

There are two areas where nutrition gurus do seem to agree, however.

1.  Avoid  SUGAR
2.  Corporations and Government have led us down the wrong path for many years.  Money rules.



Both RAH and I are trying to eat better, but I don't even really know what that means!!!!!!!!!

Should I be eating nuts? not according to Dr. McDougall.

Will that glass of milk be okay with my breakfast?  Yes, says Ms. Planck and Dr. Atkins; no say the others.

Never eat another chip or pretzel or cracker!  Except they are on the DO eat list of Dr. McDougall!  

Of course, there has to be some common sense in all this; they, in general say fruits and veggies, but again, they do not agree on ALL fruits and ALL veggies; some are on the do-not-eat lists of each health guru.

So, it's all contradictory; all confusing, all consuming, and all mysterious.

But, we'll just keep trying......