My People Thermostat is Working

It’s weird to go to community pancake breakfasts and barbeques alone. It’s not so much fun as going with someone else. I could easily find someone to go with me. All I have to do is pick up the phone and call a friend, but I’m not doing that. The truth is, I don’t really want to go out. Wallowing in idleness sometimes can be delightfully satisfying. If I had some chocolate, it would be perfect.

I’ve been tired this weekend. Sleepy. Like when you have the flu, but without actually having the flu. Yesterday I wondered if I had eaten something that made me sick. I also wondered if I was reacting to mosquito bites—or maybe the mosquito repellent.  I’ve been taking naps and just doing nothing. Actually I’ve been binge-watching a couple of great television series on Netflix, which is a very pleasing kind of mindlessness. Today, I just don’t want to be around people. I’m not an introvert, but sometimes I just get peopled-out.

Anyone who has worked with people knows what I mean. I used to be a college instructor and my colleagues and I all understood what was meant by “end of term flu.” We would very often get sick right after we handed in the final grades. Whether it’s a reaction to stress or a seasonal vulnerability, I’m not qualified to say. I only know that we routinely got sick in December and April. I think we gave our bodies permission to shut down for a few days, and when we did that we let the viruses in.

This last couple of weeks I have spent a lot of time telephoning long lists of volunteers for this weekend’s civic celebrations, and in doing so I talked to more people than I normally talk to in months.  Now, my ‘people thermostat’ is self-regulating, and that’s ok.  It’s only a 48-hour flu.

Is it possible to get chocolate delivered?

 

 

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Image source: http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s235/joyce1021/Ethan/Oct2008/sleeping.jpg