one thing i've learned about myself.

I suppose that a growing sense of self-awareness comes along with adding more candles to the birthday cake. As I get older, I have a deeper sense of what makes me tick, how I respond to certain people and situations, what stresses me out and what makes me happy. So I've become increasingly aware of this fact: I. Simply. Can't. Sit. Still.

I don't know if I've become hardwired by years of working on deadlines, or if my need for order and organization compels me to keep a to-do list, or what. But I have this primordial need to be busy. Having an hour or three with nothing to do makes me batty. Sitting idly makes me nervous. While lots of people are totally content to just "hang out," I get a bit stir-crazy.

(See the post about taking a day off to putter as a case in point. I mean, really: Who takes a much-needed day of R&R and spends the whole time vacuuming baseboards and sweeping the garage? I needed a massage AFTER my day of rest.)

Yesterday, I spent three hours on the couch reading the Sunday New York Times, working the crossword, watching football, talking on the phone (and, yes, napping).

You know what? I kinda liked it.