The (Un)social butterfly in me

So one of my friends was asking me what my weekend plans were and I replied, "I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon, and that's all..." then I smiled and added, "Just the way I like it!". She smiled back and said "man,  you have changed so much." and you know what, she is SO right. I was the queen of plans not so long ago. I mean, the kind of person who would have something like 5 or 7 things put into my day (never exercise, somehow) or at least in a weekend, plus something going on almost every night. And this was only maybe a year or so ago. But around January of 2008, I started to "go inside" and let a lot of my plans and obligations fall away. I was a little depressed but mostly just needed to go to the extreme opposite of where I had been. Pull in those boundaries and just concentrate on myself and my family and really take some down time, only venturing out when I really felt like it or absolutely had to go to an event. I don't mean I was some crazy lady who stayed in her bathrobe all day and ordered all her things including groceries online, though at times that did sound appealing. I just didn't need all the social engagements I used to participate in regularly. I quit all my book and movie clubs. I stopped raising my hands to volunteer for every little thing that came up. Just started saying "NO" to a lot. I let my friends know that it wasn't personal if I declined any number of invitations, just taking care of myself right now. It was a really good thing for me to do. And it lasted almost a year, and then slowly, I felt more up to doing more things socially. But truthfully, I still don't do nearly what I used to, we stay home a lot and I tend to like it that way, just puttering around the house or cooking or baking or watching a movie. It's way cheaper and my hubby and son are just natural born homebodies so I am fitting in just fine. The weekend feel more sacred to me now, a time to pull in from the week and just BE with my lovelies. I do feel a little sad sometimes that some of my friends have given up asking or thinking of me when making a social plan, and yes, I can ask too but mostly I am happy to be way more In than Out. Maybe it comes with age, who knows...but I will take my Un-crowded life any day....

PS Photo found on Flickr by someone called Moonbird and is titled "Time to go within".