Sometimes, You Have to Giggle

I've had some interesting moments this week in my quest to play a little bit better with others (a familiar journey for The Introvert).  Mostly, these moments have had to do with health care and having to share information about my health history.

Scenario #1: The Erstwhile Non-Matriculate
I've made no secret of the fact that I'm planning to take a non-matriculated refresher course in the Spanish Language.  I'm excited about it because it's been ten years since I used the language with any frequency, and it's been almost twenty years since my last Spanish Language class.  In order to take the class and be a Non-Matriculated Student, several online forms are required regarding health history (presumably, just in case I have to visit Student Health Services).  One of the forms got into detail regarding conditions and surgeries.   There weren't enough lines or fields available for me to give the complete answers to the questions.  This sent me into somewhat of a funk.   No one likes to think of themselves as having a difficult medical history.  Most of the time, I don't think about it at all!  It certainly was no one's fault that the lines/fields in this form were too small.
The Answer to Scenario #1: I took a break, and went back to it after cooling down.

Scenario #2: The Flummoxed Fee-Payer
Health care billing is not my favorite thing.  Indeed, this Introvert used to work with Telephonic Case Management for health insurance claimants out in Seattle.  I'm very, very good at deciphering medical bills and determining if the claim needs to be re-submitted.  Recently, I was sent a rather hefty bill for normal (and medically necessary) services rendered.  When I first looked at the amount, I blanched.  However, the claim and where it was sent was handled in a way that was not technically correct.  Rather than calling the billing department at the care provider's establishment and pointing fingers, I opted to type out how the claim should have been submitted (per my understanding of the ins and outs of our insurance plan), and to send my response to the bill at hand directly back to the billing department in the hopes that the paper trail and the pleasant tone of the paper sent would facilitate a quick and timely resubmittal for full payment.
The Answer to Scenario #2: I played to my strengths and experience, rather than giving in to the feeling that I should call someone and demand action right this minute.

Scenario #3: The Mania of the Move
My older stepson is moving to his graduate school tomorrow.  Due to this fact, our house is understandably in a state of flux.   However, the constant movement and clutter of things and people is detrimental to my serenity.  It's a temporary state, but the difficulties inherent in this state of being are not helped by the overall sense of mixed sadness and extreme pride about the move.  Brady is an amazing stepson and a very accomplished young man.  I'll miss him terribly.  In the meantime, I've set up "base camp" in the living room, carving out a space where I can chill out with my kitties and be available to Brady for whatever he needs while he prepares for this next chapter of his life.
The Answer to Scenario #3: I'm available to my boys, while preserving a calm space during a time of transition.

Anatomy of a Night

10:00PM: Gone to Bed.
10:15PM: Cats Decide to Nuzzle.
10:30PM: Covers/Sheets Have Somehow Become Tangled.
10:45PM: Husband to Bed.
11:00PM: Husband is Fast Asleep.
11:15PM: Shut Off Super-Bright Kitchen Lights
11:30PM: Shut Off Super-Bright Kitchen Lights, Kick Out Cats, and SHUT DOOR.
11:45PM: Cats Start Breaking Down Door.
12:00AM: Finally Drop to Sleep.
3:15AM: Cat #2 Decides to Battle Himself--Reflection in Sliding Door.
3:30AM: Attempt to Get Back to Sleep After Deterring Cat from Battle.
4:15AM: Give Up and Go to Couch.
4:30AM: Cat #1 Sets Off Alarm on iHome Dock Left Out by Hubby; FULL BLAST.
4:45AM: Cat #2 Jumps on Stomach (20lb Cat).
5:00AM: Human Decides to Get Up and Face the Day On Little Sleep --- For the Second Night in a Row.

Rumination

It's been an interesting and very social month, fellow Introverts.  I'm fairly exhausted.  Romeyn has been wonderful--hanging out, giving me space, taking care of a bit of housekeeping (thank you!!!) and generally being awesome.  

That is all for now.  

Lake House

There is a unique bend to the air at camp.  We only just arrived here yesterday afternoon.   We'll need to go back home in a few short hours.   I serenaded the lake with my travel guitar while Romeyn assembled the family's dock.  Glorious feelings of both love and solitude are in ample supply.  

Happy late spring, Lake Champlain.  

Love,

Your Sociable Introvert 

Everybody Hurts, Sometimes

Everyone has hurt someone in their lives, somewhere down the line.  It's one of the few absolutes that can be said both with confidence in its verity and with empathy for the many who have experienced its implications.

The proclivity to get lost in the past is a not-uncommon fault in my personal makeup.  My mother tells me that I am a peace-maker.  This seems about right.  I'm not saying I don't have a temper.  You may rest assured that the German-Irish in me is feisty and ready to rumble at a moment's notice.  (Usually, however, that energy gets channeled into exercise and board games.  Ruthlessness is not a bad quality in one's Scrabble opponent.)  I like to think things through, sometimes to exhaustion.  It is unlikely that I cannot eventually see another person's point of view, given enough input and time to ruminate upon it.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but as we age it is only natural that one looks back on the history of their lives and judges themselves--whether harshly or gently, the judgment is there.  I spent a great deal of my youth engaged in relationship after relationship, on a (let's be candid here--it was fairly) ruthless quest for The One.  I used to agonize in each case--"Is this it?  If not, should I waste any more of my time and/or my partner's time?" In 1999, one family friend commented that I had too many "rules" (things that I would not stand for in a mate).  In 2006, my relatives started to get antsy about me ever settling down.

When I was 19, I visited a palm reader in Manchester (England).   He told me at the time that I would meet my husband to be at a very young age, and then marry him when I was much, much older.  I met Romeyn not too long after that.  However, I didn't make the connection.  Romeyn was my friend, and (more to the point) married to his first wife at the time.  Palmistry has resulted in some interesting coincidences, if not outright revelations in my personal experience. 

I am 18 years older than that ridiculously young nineteen year old, trembling in front of a palm reader in that little hole-in-the-wall across the sea.  In those years, I have hurt others, been hurt, run away from home, come back to New York, and re-met the man who become my husband in June of 2009.  As Karma goes, mine is not the cleanest.  My soul, however, is at peace. Regardless of the errors of the past, the beauty of the present more than makes up for the Karmic debt.  I felt that this would be the case when Romeyn and I decided to get married.  This is why one of our songs in the wedding was "Something Good" from "The Sound of Music."

"Somewhere in my youth and childhood, I must have done something good!"

Projects, Projects, Projects

There's always something brewing in the Prescott household.   Right now, it's a small undertaking--new cushion covers for a few chairs at camp.  This week will be somewhat insanely busy, but in a very good way.  So I have my projects in order to avoid the ever-present threat of social over-stimulation.

Knitting, sewing, reading, fundraising, exercise, and cooking are just a few examples of the project-fun.  Fellow Introverts, I heartily suggest using at least the Reading to help stave off social malaise!

The Restorative Powers of Silence

Introversion is a wonderful thing, and it's certainly not a "license to offend." (Sometimes, I am met with incredulous and even offended responses to the revelation that I am Introverted---really, truly, almost completely 100% Introverted.)  With me, you can truly rest assured that "it's not you, it's me." It's not antipathy towards other human beings.  It's the need for calm, quiet times of introspection and rest.  Sometimes, these periods of rest and quiet lead to whole hours of no talking--to the point of being surprised by my own voice when I finally break the precious silence.

Books and art are a staple of this existence.  I'm a little excited because during the wonderful trip with my Wedding Girls (Sara, Rita, and Alexis), I found a very very flat rock upon which to paint things.  Rita started recommending a few books (we have some similar tastes so I'm always open to her reading selections!).  Sara unlocked and spurred on the canoeing activities (water, introspection, yippee!).  Alexis got knitty with it (hee hee).  So--this Introvert had a lot of fun with like-minded peeps.  Who'd'a'thunk-it?  Well, everyone who knows how special my Friends are knows that they are super-Introvert-friendly and fun to be with...but that's besides the point.

This week has already been very crazy.  The return to work was nice, but then I was called in for an extended jury selection process.  Yikes!  The fun continues...good thing I've got my book.