This gets a little deep...

I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone, I never found the companionable as solitude.

-Henry David Thoreau

This past weekend we had the privilege to socialize with two different friends, in two different social settings, and in fact, in two different states. It was odd to have such vastly different experiences so close together.

Saturday night we went out with one of our college friends and her new-to-us boyfriend down in Atlanta. We hit up of the best Mexican joints in town, but of course being the best means having an hour wait. We grabbed margaritas and staked out a spot for ourselves on the porch. When we were finally seated, we had to yell across the table at one another to hear, and with my bad ears and all of the noise, I just couldn't stay up with the conversation. Rob keeps in touch with Ashley more often than I do, so I just kind of felt lost. Enjoyed the company and the conversations, but felt bad that I couldn't add more. The food was delish though.

Sunday night Rob and his friend Thomas (another college friend who happened to be a groomsman) went bike riding, and then came back to the apartment to chill out a bit. At the last minute I offered to cook dinner just to prolong the evening. I threw some tortillas on the grill pan and make grilled pizzas for all of us. It was casual, it was somewhat spontaneous, and it was wonderful. The conversation wandered from here to there and back again, but always interesting, even if it was occasionally cringe-worthy guy talk. 

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about the differences between extroverts and introverts. I've always known I was an introvert, but wasn't exactly sure what that meant until I recently read several articles by Marti Olsen Laney. This weekend just further illustrated the concept for me: even though I had fun in the crowded restaurant with acquaintances, I just felt overwhelmed; on the other hand, at the small gathering in a space that felt comfortable, I wanted the night to go on forever.

By the way... if you're interested to see where you fall along the continuum, check out this quiz (Scroll down to the "Being an Introvert" section). I scored a 26 out of 30!