Exploration, Part II

Continuing on...

Eccentric behavior.  You'll have to help me out here. 

Lack of close friends.  This definitely describes me.  I always liked going out to eat lunch because this was my socialization time.  There was something about getting into a car, traveling somewhere, and eating together that filled a need for me.  Staying in and having lunch did not feel the same.  But if I could go out to eat with other people, my need for human interaction was satisfied.  I've lived here for 7 or 8 years, and I've visited one neighbor once.  And we used to teach at Barbe together.  All of my friends have come from work situations.  And while that may not be so unusual, I usually did not see them outside of the work environment. 

Socially anxious.  Yes.  If I have a defined role to play, I am fine.  But if I'm in a purely social situation, I feel anxious.

Well, that's it for going through the symptoms. It's interesting reading Queenie's comments.  I think I was in the 7th grade when you got married.  I just remember that I was in junior high when Carla was born.  I, too, don't remember much about the early years.  I have some memory of the floors being waxed with paste wax.  And there's something about trying to teach Mama to jitterbug one Saturday during cleaning.  And I remember that you and Judy did the dishes every night until you graduated from high school.  As far as Mama's hospitalization is concerned, I remember hearing her tell someone that a doctor had prescribed a medication for her that made her heart race (some kind of thyroid medication, I think) and, from how she described it, maybe she was found in a catatonic state.  I guess what really happened will remain a mystery.  I don't know how long they generally kept people hospitalized back in the day, but it seems to me that 10 days was a substantial amount of time.  I can imagine that it would seem like several weeks to a young child. 

I think you made a good point about adopting other people's interests.  I am much more comfortable pursuing things with others in the lead.  And as far as the stick-to-it-ness is concerned, that's true, too.  Whenever I start something new, I have an increased sense of purpose and get to discover new things.  And I get to interact with people on a level that I am comfortable with.  But when the new wears off, I am lost.  If don't know if that makes sense. 

And I have trouble connecting the theoretical with the practical.  I made the highest grade in my class on my statistics final in graduate school, but I have a hard time knowing how much money I need to pay my bills.