This is a reposting of a blog I wrote ten years ago. Who knew that in 2020, becoming a hermit would be a thing for everybody...
Hermit. I still remember how I learned what the word meant. I was 5 or 6 years old and my mother was reading me the book Heidi. Heidi's grandfather was a hermit living up in the mountains, remember? My mom said a hermit was someone who lived in seclusion and never saw anyone. Creepy, right?
In those days, I was the most social person I knew. I wasn't alive unless I was surrounded by friends. I used to lay on the kitchen floor and cry out to my mom, "I'm borrrrrrrrrred!!!" My mom would tell me to go color, or read a book. But I didn't want to. I wanted to be around people! I wanted to have a friend over. I wanted to do something BIG. I wanted P.T. Barnum to ring my doorbell, with elephants on balls and poodles on tricycles in tow.
This continued, in some form or another, over the years. Whether I was in my 20s or 30s, I wanted to be where the action was: partying at a bar, shopping with friends, out at a school function, dinner with friends.
Now I am 45 and I say, "Screw the action!" I spend my days holed up in my warm house and the scary part is ... I LIKE IT! Some days, I even stay in my pajamas. Then I find myself panicking at 2:00 pm, knowing my kids will arrive home soon and my jig will be up! After all, I'm the one who yells at them to get out of the house and do something. So, surely, I can't set such a poor example. I quickly shower, make my bed and rinse the oatmeal-encrusted breakfast dishes in the sink. By the time my boys get home at 2:30, (poof!) I am magically transformed back into Donna Reed and they are none the wiser!
But I guess I am not a true "shut in," since I do converse with people on the outside: I text, I tweet, I blog. While, I'm guessing Heidi's grandfather didn't have internet access up there in the Swiss Alps, me thinks he and I have a lot in common. Hermits of the world ... unite!!!