Monday, September 20, 2010

Are you a homebody or always on the go?

I have to admit it: In spite of my crazy-long commute and sometime-hectic schedule, and in spite of my tendency to clutter and my inability to stay on top of the housework, if I had to choose between being all "Go, go, go" and spending a quiet weekend at home, the quiet weekend would win. In general, I mean, not just right now. Especially if I didn't feel obligated to clean.

I've always been a bit of a homebody and bookworm. So when my kids -- big and little alike -- ask me, "What are we going to do today?" I often catch myself wondering, "Why do we have to *do* anything?"

(Actually, our big kids ask far more often than our littles do, probably because they're usually with us during their vacation time, not all-year-round. Maybe that's a blended family thing; different households have different expectations and different definitions of "normal" and "ideal.")

For a long time, I avoided scheduling anything on the weekends. But then Tae Kwon Do creeped in. And then my youngest daughter morphed into a social butterfly, and my youngest son followed suite, with birthday parties and playdates to attend. And now I find myself scoping out events and destinations, because having a ready answer to "What are we going to do today?" is better than feeling frustrated by the question. (Back-up answer: "Make a list of what you'd like to do, and we'll try to make at least one thing on that list happen.")

Sometimes, honestly, though, the answer is "Laundry party!" and other times it's "You're big! Amuse yourselves!" I'd like to introduce them to the quiet pleasure of a sunny day, a hammock, and a good book -- but to them that sounds more like boredom than peace. That's not to say that I'm completely inactive. It's just that a quiet day at the little local lake (which is where I took my youngest kids recently) is more interesting and relaxing, to me, than a day spent shelling out money for amusement at Six Flags.

Some people are energized by activity and stimilation. Others need quiet to recharge. Which do you prefer?

1 comment:

Peter Biro said...

No doubt - I am a recharge kind of person. This may change when I no longer have young kids, but that wont happen for a while.