16 April 2011

On Being an Introverted Mother

The quiz I took the other day, along with an article on being an introvert, have had me thinking more about how being an introvert affects me as a mother.  I've always known I'm an introvert, but hadn't thought about how that affects my parenting.  I love being a mother, and I love being around my children, but at the same time, I sometimes find that I need time just to myself, where I'm not around anyone and also not doing housework.  I can get very uptight and stressed if I go a long time without having this, which can result in me being a bit snappy.

Both my need to sometimes be alone and my snapping at people would then bring feelings of guilt (I'll still feel guilty about snapping at people).  I would feel horribly guilty at leaving the kids for a few minutes while I did something.  Of course, it didn't help that I was bombarded the moment I walked back through the door.  Or I would feel guilty that I didn't want to spend some time with my husband after I'd just put both kids down for a nap and finally got a moment to myself.  I recognise more now that this isn't because I don't want to be around my family, but that I need that time to myself to reenergise myself and collect my thoughts.  After doing that, I am then able to give them the attention they need.  I'm learning that this isn't some deficiency on my part and that if I just work harder, it'll change, but this is part of who I am.  I should therefore work with my strengths and weaknesses as an introvert, instead of trying to force myself to be someone I'm not.  Hopefully I can remember that more now that I've identified that.

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