What you did to me
The position you put me in
Contaminated my insides
Deposited sludge in my veins
Dark, thick and foul
Could not be contained
A pollutant infesting my waters
Every time I think I’m clean
I feel the slime come again
It catches in the corners
The nooks and crannies of me
And heaviness sets into my bones
“I’m glad I am particular,” she said to no one in particular, giving herself one final look over in the mirror before going downstairs to join the others.
With a firm nod of approval at her reflection, she reached for her gloves, congratulating herself for having decided against wearing the new emerald green peacock and lace evening gown.
With a self-satisfied smile just barely gracing her lips, she set her face into its most attractive arrangement and started for the door and another successful evening.
I love this article so much, I had to share it today!
(I am emailing it to my husband and close friends, so that they can finally understand some of the things that make me, well, me. )
Pop over now to read “12 THINGS INTROVERTS ABSOLUTELY NEED TO BE HAPPY.”
The author is the founder of IntrovertDear.com and the author of the bestselling book, The Secret Lives of Introverts: Inside Our Hidden World. From her site:
She blogs for Psychology Today, and her writing has been featured on Quiet Revolution, The Huffington Post, The Mighty, The Muse, and elsewhere. Speaking as an expert on introversion, she has appeared on numerous radio programs and podcasts. For most of her life, Jenn felt weird, different, and out of place because of her quiet ways; now, she writes about introversion because she doesn’t want other introverts to feel the way she did
Boy am I glad she writes about this. It is so spot on.
Numbers 6 & 9!!!
I have read many articles on introvert behavior, but this was the first mention of having difficulty putting things into words and needing a room of one’s own or time in a space on our own. We are moving into a new apartment next year, and I am thrilled that I will have one room that will be all my own. I cannot put into words what this means for me!
I thought it was just one of my idiosyncrasies, but it seems I am not alone.
I have already ordered her book to read more.
My fellow introverts, what do you think?
Life Lesson Two:
It’s not a lie if it doesn’t hurt anybody.
– Blanche DuBois
With the tiniest of wry little smiles, she thought to herself, “I have a rather droll sense of humor, don’t I?”
Anyone who might have been looking her way would have thought to themselves, “Now that is an intriguing woman,” but sadly, no one was looking her way at just that moment.
And just like that, her face returned to its usual arrangement, a bespoke blend of earnest effort and fatigue, as she went to top off table eleven’s coffee cups.
Francine was beyond tired. The kids were being brats in the back seat and she had more important things on her mind than who was putting buggers on who’s arm.
Just one more errand to do, and then she could drive back home, get the kids started on their homework, and head back to the bedroom to have some alone time. She had a new mystery she was dying to start, and she just wanted to lay there, read, and finish the half-eaten jumbo candy cane pole hidden in the bedside table drawer.
Just as she was about to make a left into the library parking lot, some car from the next lane over pulled in front of her. She jammed on the brakes, which sent the kids flying into the back of the front seat and her heart into a flip-flop. After the shock wore off, she rolled down her car window, and honked the horn, yelling after the car, “Freak!!”
Hearing the shrillness of her own voice, she was surprised that that was what had come out of her mouth, but it was the worst thing she could think of to say in front of the kids. She looked back to see if they were OK, only to find that they were actually more than OK. They were cracking up over it all.
As she rolled the window back up, she quickly decided that they could forego the library for today. She gunned the gas, heading straight home to that bed and that candy as soon as humanly possible.
“I am not entirely sure that I have not completely lost my mind,” she dubiously said, both to no one in particular and to her reflection in the mirror.
Just then, Mr. Worthing, a somewhat jocular orange tabby, chose to avail himself of the ribbon that trailed from the new rather large hat that sat on her head.
Within seconds, both she and the hat were in a tattered heap on the floor, whilst Mr. Worthing scattered off with a satisfied shake of his tail.
Allow me to introduce myself
I am melody created from the stars and the moon
I am brass and timpani
I am birdsong and waves crashing
Sometimes I riff
Tickle, lick, pop and squeel
Then I am silent
Like a deep snowfall
A frosted field at night
I am all that and more
Play me and you’ll see
Improvisation, baby
That’s me
That black night
That night he came into her room
A part of her soul flew out the window
And left a hollow space inside her
A forever-empty place
A place as dark as the night
A hole that held shock and horror
In place of her innocent, free-flowing love
There can be no recompense
Nothing can ever make up for that loss
Even calling that piece back to her
Reuniting with her crucial center space
Cannot change the moments, the hours, the days, the years
Of being without her essential self
Yes, there is healing
Yes, there is repair
But the shape of the heart is forever changed
On a good day, she feels she is stronger for it all
On a bad, she wishes she’d gotten the chance to find out
Who she’d have become without his interference
That black night
I believe in Life
I believe in Love
No longer believe in lack
Or that I do not belong
I’ve converted
I see the light
I admit it
I am a neophyte!
Beyond the Skinny Branches 