Embracing the Quirkiness

First of all, another Happy Birthday shoutout to Chris. This has nothing to do with the "quirkiness" theme today!

My lunch group likes to try and fit a dozen or so of us around a table meant for maybe 6 or 8. This drives me crazy. There are two tables in the room adjacent to each other with adequate chairs at each table. I do not feel it necessary to be squeezed in around a table for the sake of having everyone eat at the same table. I am usually one of the first ones to arrive and find myself shifting and rearranging 2 or 3 times to accommodate everyone at the same table.

I think the others feel that everyone should feel welcome to sit together and all should be included in each conversation. Not a bad theory ... until I am not comfortable at my seat for my lunch with 3 different conversations running across a 6 foot diagonal. We've tried pushing tables together. Two circle tables do not fit all that well together and it still means moving and shuffling. It's not the break from the day that I look forward to.

On days when I arrive late and set myself up at the other table, I cannot make them understand that I'm OK with that. I will sit with my own little group holding our own discussions to save the world. It's OK, really. But not for them.

Which brings me to yesterday when I arrived late at a meeting and tried to sit at a separate table and not squeezed in at the table with the rest of the group. I want to shout: "It's OK! I feel no discomfort sitting over here. In fact, I prefer some space." More fuss was created by them trying to get me to change my mind interrupting the meeting.

I had been thinking that people feel they need to group together to fulfill some kind of need to belong. Kind of like those people that feel they need to seat themselves in the movie theater right in front of you when the theater is all but empty and you are no where near front and center. Or park next to your car in an empty parking lot. Well you get the idea.

But, it occured to me yesterday when the whole lunchtime scene replayed at this other meeting with completely different people that it must be ME that's the problem here. I know, hard to believe. Upon some reflection I think this is just one of my little quirks. I would rather sacrifice some sociability for physical comfort. Most people apparently would rather be social than comfortable. It might surprise you to learn I have just a few other little low level quirks as well.

Which got me remembering (see how my mind works?) how Dad would just stand in the kitchen eating instead of sitting at the table. I hated that. I felt like he just wanted to draw attention to himself and be different for no purpose. I wonder if that's how my behavior appears to others? I am sure Dad had his own reasons just as I do. Now you have the benefit of my sharing it with you all when he never did.

It's a quirk. I have others! I don't really like sand on the beach. I love the sun and sound but not the sand. Hate the sand. I don't like large cups for drinks. Almost can't drink from a large cup. All that liquid --too overwhelming. Quirkiness. Hate the skin on pudding. Don't really like getting my feet wet in the grass going outside with sandals on.

But somehow I could put myself in one of those harnesses and hook myself to the back of a speedboat for parasailing. Walking across the high bridge along the beams underneath. The other side of negative quirks are quirks like these. Or do they call these something else--like reckless? No, reckless is trying to sit at the other table in lunch.

Care to share your quirks or thoughts? C'mon--I've put myself out there. Your turn!