extrovert gets introvert time

Cabin fever. We have it. I posted this picture because my boys eat, sleep and breathe football right now, and they really need to burn off some energy. They played outside today (we had FIFTEEN full minutes of sunshine..."Get outside! QUICK!" I yelled at them....) and all they played was "tackle". Well let me say that because of the partial thaw and rain last week, and due to the colder temps this week, there is a solid layer of ice underneath all the new snow. They might as well be "tackling" on hard concrete. During the outside frolic today we had a total of two bruised cheeks, one black eye, and three bloody noses. Sigh.

So that's not really what my post is all about. Tim says I need to post pictures, and I figured it would be proper to at least explain why I picked the one I did, even if it has nothing to do with things. So there you have it.

It is 8:50pm. I have ten precious minutes left before Panera kicks me out. I have been here since 6pm. I have eaten a delicious meal, had a cup of coffee and a cookie, and have not spoken a word for three hours. (I did, however, treat the surrounding tables to a couple of newscasts and a really great sermon I was listening to, not realizing that my earbuds weren't plugged in all the way...oops.) I was supposed to have a meeting tonight that I was really looking forward to, but it was cancelled. Tim was already planning on me being gone for the evening, and his wise wife-intuition of 13 years told him I could stand to get out of the house. My yelling at him for buying chips and salsa at the store apart from my planned grocery budget for the week may have tipped him off. (My three hours at Panera cost considerably more, but we all know that's different.) Anyway, he is very intuitive of my need for replenishing, so he sent me packing. I didn't object. I'm really pretty much an extrovert. I love being with people, love being where the action is, love being with my family hanging out, love a good conversation. But once in a while I just need to be alone. I tried calling a friend to meet, but she couldn't. And I had to resist the temptation to keep trying to get someone to meet me for a good heart to heart and cup o' joe. Because tonight I think God was whispering in my heart that I just needed to be alone. Alone with Him, alone to gather my thoughts, alone to recharge. And that's just what I did. And now I'm ready for another day....