{"id":7949,"date":"2018-06-22T00:02:36","date_gmt":"2018-06-22T06:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.mops.org\/?p=7949"},"modified":"2018-06-22T00:02:36","modified_gmt":"2018-06-22T06:02:36","slug":"thrive-in-summertime-even-as-an-introverted-mom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themom.co\/fr\/thrive-in-summertime-even-as-an-introverted-mom\/","title":{"rendered":"Thrive in Summertime (Even) as an Introverted Mom"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As an introvert, and a mother of two children under 8 years old, summertime used to stress me out, which in turn would trigger major mom-guilt.<em> What kind of mom doesn\u2019t love summer!?<\/em> I would scold myself. (<em>Note:<\/em> practice kinder self-talk.)<\/p>\n<p>Summer is supposed to be this joyful time of togetherness, memory-making and squealing children dancing in the sprinklers, but the idea of being constantly surrounded by people (even <em>my own<\/em> people), and frenetic summertime energy &#8211; honestly, it used to make me anxious.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re in the same boat, or maybe this sounds like someone in your family, take comfort in knowing a couple of things:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You\u2019re not alone. Somewhere <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/jennagoudreau\/2012\/01\/26\/the-secret-power-of-introverts\/#2072da647cdf\">between 30-50% of people identify as introverts<\/a>. That means there are a whole lot of parents (and kids!) who need a less frenetic summer to feel rested and recharged.<\/li>\n<li>It\u2019s OK! We can honor and respect our natural disposition by creating space for our souls to thrive, even (and especially) when the season can become chaotic. (<em>See also:<\/em> Christmas time.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Over the years, rather than scolding myself for my introverted nature, I\u2019ve begun looking at the different facets of myself: body, mind and soul and asking a few guiding questions to help me determine what I need to thrive and feel nourished over the summer, and avoid social burnout and anxiety. Then, I take the answers to those questions, and make a plan that will protect the time and space I need to deliver on them to myself. (<em>Hint:<\/em> It helps to have your significant other on-board with the plan from the start. And it can be a really enriching exercise to go through this process together!)<\/p>\n<p>Now, I want to make sure I\u2019m being completely real here. Most of us can\u2019t clock-out on some blissful, introvert summertime fantasy vacation (but if you can &#8211;<em> Go get it, Girl!<\/em>). But with some self-awareness, this summer can be one that nurtures your natural disposition, without dampening that of the extroverts in your family.<\/p>\n<p>I hope these questions help guide you in creating the space you need to thrive, so that on the other side of this summer you feel like a nourished, renewed version of yourself. I included my answers to help articulate some possible responses.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>What can I look forward to this summer that will give me a sense of ease and enjoyment in my physical body? Is there something unique about the summer that my body enjoys?<\/em><br \/>\nSunshine! I love laying on a beach towel in the sun, usually with a good book, or sometimes just to nap. I can do this a few times a week while the baby naps.<\/li>\n<li><em>What can I look forward to that will nurture my mind? Is there an issue or idea that I\u2019ve wanted to explore? What books or podcasts come to mind?<\/em><br \/>\nI can\u2019t wait to read more about the 9 Enneagram types, and how they interact in relationships. Book: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ivpress.com\/the-path-between-us\">\u201cThe Path Between Us,\u201d by Suzanne Stabile<\/a>, Podcast: Ian Cron\u2019s \u201cTypology.\u201d I can listen to these while I\u2019m doing housework, or while I\u2019m laying out in the sunshine.<\/li>\n<li><em>What can I look forward to that will nourish my soul? Who are the people who leave me feeling refreshed, or with whom I feel a sense of sisterhood?<\/em><br \/>\nSpending time with people who leave me feeling refreshed and a sense of sisterhood. I\u2019m planning to see more of Kelly (who I met at MOPS!) and Krista. Since Kelly and Krista have littles, we can do play dates during the day, and since Krista is artsy-fartsy like me, we can make it a point to go to at least one \u201cArt-After-Dark\u201d event in my town.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you\u2019re like most moms, you\u2019ve spent a considerable amount of time planning various camps and classes and trips for your children over the summer. How could this summer be different for you, if you approached <em>your<\/em> summertime with similar intentionality? Consider making the time to ponder these guiding questions, and jot down some notes on whatever is close at hand: on the back of a receipt or the notes app on your phone. It doesn\u2019t have to look perfect, or be on just the right paper &#8211; just get the thoughts down. Then make a plan.<\/p>\n<p>No, this practice won\u2019t magically transport you to the perfect introvert-paradise, but the simple knowledge that you have something to look forward to that nurtures your natural disposition can be enough to propel you through the next high-energy summer activity, and give you the sense of peace you need to enjoy it.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-7952 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.mops.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/melissa-248x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"181\" \/>Melissa Jenna Godsey is a mother of two, a business-owner, and a writer based in San Luis Obispo, California. She offers encouragement, wisdom and truth for walking in love toward\u00a0who we\u2019re called to be. Come alongside her on Instagram at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.instagram.com\/melissajenna\">@melissajenna<\/a>, and at <a href=\"http:\/\/melissajenna.com\">melissajenna.com<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As an introvert, and a mother of two children under 8 years old, summertime used to stress me out, which in turn would trigger major mom-guilt. What kind of mom doesn\u2019t love summer!? I would scold myself. (Note: practice kinder self-talk.) Summer is supposed to be this joyful time of togetherness, memory-making and squealing children [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":328,"featured_media":7955,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"0","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,117],"tags":[1381,205,675,1256,54,56,111],"class_list":["post-7949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fun","category-wellness","tag-art","tag-books","tag-friends","tag-introvert","tag-mama","tag-motherhood","tag-summer"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themom.co\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themom.co\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themom.co\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themom.co\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/328"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themom.co\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.themom.co\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7949\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themom.co\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themom.co\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themom.co\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}