Hermit Time and the Art of Mental Solitude

Everyone who really knows me knows I am more than a bit of an introvert.  Although I joke that I am a functioning sociopath, it's really not the truth.  I am not anti-social for the most part.  I enjoy talking to people, I love hearing their stories.  My full-time job allows (requires) me to talk to people all day.  I have met an array of people with the full spectrum of personalities. I enjoy, for the most part, talking with them.

And it's also exhausting...

On the weekends, it is quite a different story.  I call the weekends hermit time. Hermit time is necessary for me to exist.  Hermit time is when I manage to recharge my batteries from the day to day where I am in public.  Hermit time is a requirement.

It's not necessarily solitude.  I don't go off into the woods spending the weekend in a cabin to "get away."  I am not a Thoreau.  What it really is is a matter of being in control of my environment.  I read what I want to read, listen to the music I love (frequently with headphones). I make art, I write, I work on my rapidly growing collection of vintage typewriters. I drink my coffee from a real cup instead of a travel mug.  I listen to the noise of my own choosing.

I mentioned typewriters.  As some of you know I have a new found passion for vintage typewriters.  Part of my hermit time is teaching myself how to restore and maintain vintage typewriters.  I have nine typewriters at this writing.  I am not planning on fixing them and re-selling them.  Each one of them is different. I tell myself (and Valerie) that I am done searching for now,  There is one more on my list, however.  I am keeping my eyes out for a reasonably priced typewriter with a script (cursive) typeface.

And you may ask, what does my wife, Valerie, think of all this?  The best I can say is that she loves me and knows I need this to be a functioning adult.  When her weekends are free, we go on our own adventures.  We both love road trips.  Road trips are part of hermit time.  Like I said, I do not aspire to be like Thoreau.  Since Spring is definitely coming soon, there are road trips in our immediate future.
As I sit here this morning, I am sipping an espresso, listening to Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, and contemplating my own hermit time for the day.  I have nothing on my agenda that involves being in a crowd, no gatherings to attend.  Even if I did I would be trying to find ways to get out of it.  Avoiding crowds is definitely part of hermit time. I have food, books, coffee, and the love of person who understands me.  What more do I really need?
​
Hermit time is what you want it to be.  It's basically taking control of your environment, even if it's just for a day or two.  It doesn't have to be productive.  It could be sitting around watching TV all day, although I usually find that over-stimulating.  Over-stimulation is exactly what I take pains in avoiding.