Aspie Holidays

Holidays can be hard on you if you're on the spectrum. Particularly if you have people over to your house -- or you are over to their house. The disruption of one's routine, the large number of people, being unable to do the things you typically do, meaning you have no earthly idea what to do with yourself.

Don't get me wrong. It's good to see friends and relatives. It's good to talk and visit. I love having people over, and I would never want anyone to not want to come over. But I really don't know what to do with myself during these times. I can typically get all my "visiting" in pretty quickly. After that, it's mostly small talk, and if there is something someone on the spectrum can't stand, it's small talk. I can't seem to make myself have a conversation that doesn't involve philosophy, ideas, literature, economics, spontaneous orders, etc. And if I can't do that, or read about those things, or write about those things, I'm at a loss with most people.

Of course, with it being Thanksgiving, I did get to cook. And I love to cook. I literally cooked from 8am to 4pm. After I prepared the turkey and put it in the oven, I made breakfast. After I ate breakfast, I started working on all the sides for dinner, including home made dressing, using bread crumbs I broke up and dried myself. That was the best time for me.

Several of Anna's family came, and I'm glad they came. I'm glad Anna and the kids got to see some of Anna's family, and that they got to see Anna and the kids. But I'm always concerned that I come across as distant and unfriendly when I mostly leave people alone and sometimes disappear into the bedroom. I don't mean to come across that way. I always want people to feel welcome.

So the week was pretty exhausting for me. I didn't appear to do much of anything, but the fact of the matter is that I find working less exhausting than social situations.