HAPPY HERMIT-ING

Once upon a time I was a social butterfly. Flitting here and there with friends, dancing until the disco played Donna Summer’s Last Dance and hosting gatherings where I made all the food in what was then my teeny tiny kitchen. Now it appears I have become a happy hermit.

Dancing till dawn? Hahahaha. Gatherings? Ish. Flitting about? Well… I can still flit with the best of ’em. But dates written in ink on my calendar? Plans to travel, socialize, go out to dinner, dinner parties in? Not so much. That requires way too many preparatory measures.

Mind you, I have many a list of menus I would prepare and themes to incorporate ready for the taking. Those lists? Promptly stuck in a drawer. And there they lay as I exhaust myself just thinking about it.

As proof… I’m now exhausted!

But I vacillate between guilt and, as I mentioned, happy hermit-ing.

I could be learning new things, right? A new language or how to play the piano sitting silent in our home. Or even traveling to destinations near and far. Hey I see all those comings and goings on Instagram! And I imagine I should be having lots and lots and lots of face to facings.

In that case, this next chapter of mine would likely be referred to as my ‘I’m All Pooped out’ chapter.

HMMMMMMM…

After further reflection I’ve decided to go with this version instead: the ‘Whatever the Hell I Want to Do’ chapter. And if that means my traveling consists of strolling out to my patio and parking my butt – then hell yes.

This ‘Whatever the Hell I Want to Do’ will reveal itself on a day by day basis where I’ll be doing whatever floats my boat. Needless to say, my version is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Which reminds me to put that on my list… afternoon tea.

Oooo, I could ‘tea’ on my patio, where I chat with my flowers, do some deadheading and watch the squirrels. My squirrels and I like to play a game I like to call… SURPRISE!!!

It goes like this: I spy my furry-tailed buddy checking out the patio from the pole across the alley. That signals me to freeze as the squirrel stealthily makes its way to the top of my surrounding wall. As it carefully makes its way further into my space, I make a slight movement and she freezes; pretending invisibility. After I make another slight movement… the squirrel takes a couple of slow-motion steps backwards and freezes again. That’s when I yell ‘SURPRISE!’ and he scatters like Speedy Gonzalez on speed. Now that’s what I call funnnnnn.

Isn’t my next chapter gonna be the best?

I’ll be the life of my own party!

The ‘WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT’ chapter might even go something like this… make a detailed list of all I wish to accomplish, set it down, and promptly do NOTHING. Nothing could be literally nothing.

This hermit (ish) life is surprisingly… happy. Frantic dashing between events? Gone. Agonizing over what to wear. Well, sometimes.

But first and foremost – days filled with the quiet luxury of choice. What a privilege. Right?

And that guilt I mentioned? I admit it sometimes rears its ugly head with pangs of “I should be doing this, that and the other thing too”. That’s when I gently remind myself that life may look a little different now… but hell, I get to choose where to invest my energy…

… even if it’s an intentional sit down of my tush.

Remember… it’s whatever the hell I want to do. Having said that, I might actually decide to take those piano lessons, I could enroll in a class or unearth my art supplies. I hear ‘grandma hobbies’, like knitting, are supposed to extend ones lifespan. How about that!

What’s more, dear readers, I do have TV shows to catch up on, and Wordle, Squaredle and Connections at my fingertips. Hell, I have friends to walk, talk and share silly memes with.

See… I’m not a total loser.

Anybody relate?