I have taken a self-imposed partial vow of silence.  For the last five days, the longest conversation I have had was thirteen minutes long, and it was over the phone.  The only person I have spoken to face to face for longer than it takes to pay for groceries, was my doctor.

Somewhere along the way, I lost my appreciation of people.  It may have been happening for awhile, but I didn’t notice it until last week.  Every request or question, no matter how trivial, awoke in me a level of frustration and annoyance that I have not seen in myself.  I didn’t like that feeling, but it kept happening.  And then I got sick.  I decided to hermit myself away, and not think about work, or things I should be doing.  I slept, read and watched movies.  I ventured out for groceries twice.  I took long baths and listened to music.  I tuned out the rest of the world and spent time with myself.  And I realized that I’m pretty good company.

Tomorrow, I return to the world.  And I’m looking forward to it.