I get a little chuckle when I see posts about introverts and how much we love social distancing and are in our happy place due to stay-at-home orders giving us permission to opt out of social engagements.

We would gnaw off our right foot if it meant ending this thing right now.

Introverts recharge alone. My family won’t leave. They’re always around me. And I love them but, sweet solitude, I need a minute from time to time!

There’s this image of introverts – you probably know it without even reading the following description: An introvert gleefully curls up on a couch with a cup of cocoa, blankets, and a book while their friends are out partying into the night.

It does actually sound amazing but let me bring some reality to this image: These carbon copies of mine keep climbing under my blanket and sipping my cocoa. There is a grown man constantly asking me to move my feet though an empty couch sits steps away…

This isn’t easy for introverts. We’re the ones sliding into vehicles and locking the doors in the driveway for some solitude. We’re training ourselves into insomnia so we can get some peace once we’ve red-eyed our way to a sleeping house.

You know what I need? A car ride to myself with the windows down and the music up. A house to myself. I need a change of scenery and time with girlfriends (introverts love our people too) because the hard thing about being an introvert is being ON all the time. I need to be in charge of my own time and my own schedule.

Sweet solitude, I need a blanket, a book, and a cup of chocolate.

Check in with your introverts during all of this. We are not okay!