Joy in Simplicity

I've had a few conversations lately with a dear friend about personality profiles and trying to understand oneself.  Among the many different ways of measuring personality identifiers, I find the easiest, and most used by the masses, to be the ideas of introverts and extroverts.  I know that in the last 29 years I have been identified as either at any given time. I believe in my youth, or for those who still consider me to be such, in my younger days, I was an extrovert.  These days, I'm fairly certain I lean more towards introvert.  Sometimes I say I'm an extroverted-introvert, other days I'm an introverted-extrovert.  The hyphen helps and somehow the distinction matters.

After a long summer that began with plenty of scooter time that fed the introvert in me, and ended with a road trip and 24/7 companions that required the extrovert of me, I have come to understand that this girl who once couldn't handle silence or solitude now needs it in order to truly rest.  The funny thing is, I don't need it in the wilderness, (though I prefer it that way and greatly enjoy it), and I don't need it to be in stillness.  I have found that even doing simple chores like pumping water, vacuuming, washing my car or doing laundry can have a very calming affect on me. Finding joy in these tasks was not something I went looking for but it's something for which I'm thankful.

Now, if only I could add doing dishes to that list.