When The Welcome Wears Thin.

Today's post comes out of a few days' musing that I've done. I'm quite a sociable person by nature, but lately, I've noticed something really interesting about myself. I really like my own company. And by "really like", I mean that I only like people staying overnight - three days maximum. 

I found this out when my boyfriend's father came to stay for a week. Whilst I loved having him stay, I felt very claustrophobic in my house and almost as if normal life was put on hold. I felt like I couldn't have a bath when I wanted to, I couldn't work out when I wanted to ... and I have no idea why. I guess it may be to do with the feeling that I had to be a host, rather than just getting on with my life. 

The thing is, I love my solitude. When my ex-partner left me, I suddenly found myself spending a lot of time on my own. I got to know the nuances of my silence, I understood why I enjoyed my own company so much. It gives me space to decompress after a hard day at work, to recover after spending a lot of time with other people, and it helps me to work through things that are bothering me. As well as that, I also manage to get the housework done - laundry, washing up, hoovering etc. Yes, my boyfriend lives with me, but it's teamwork that makes the house run smoothly.

As well as this, my job involves a lot of interaction. As a care support worker, I'm pretty much dealing with everyone, from the patients to their families to the doctors and nurses. Working on a trauma ward is also great fun, because we've got people coming into the ward who have had major surgery to repair broken bones and who are, in all honesty, shitting themselves. It's a busy ward, but it's great fun (and draining)!

Therefore, I prefer to limit my interaction with people in my house. Sadly, one of the things I discovered when my boyfriend's father stayed was that, after about three days, I was ready for him to leave. He's a lovely man, don't get me wrong, but after three days I was thankful I had work so that I could escape and have some time away! It gave me space to decompress and do something other than play host, which was fantastic.

Now I'm not saying I'm a hermit by any means, I'm just saying that it's interesting how much I value my solitude after years of thinking it was the bane of my life.