I am an introvert, and my happy place is somewhere quiet, with books, music,  projects, and my internal dialogue. But I was thinking this morning that I still need people, and I’m lucky to have people in my life. So I’m making a list of persons I’m grateful for. 

1. My grouchy, disapproving, adorable little ten-year-old cat, who must have been the second cat (under the thumb of the first cat) in his previous home, before I got him two years ago. Because the refuge got their names mixed up, they told me a bunch of things about his personality that just weren’t true. He is gradually loosening up and by the time he dies he will have relaxed completely. He has me under his nonexistent thumb, and I am putting him first because he owns me.
2. My grandchild, who is not all that different from the cat, honestly. He is mildly grouchy, very opinionated, and sweet. The main difference between him and the cat is that he is intelligent. Also, he is half the cat’s age. I cannot believe he exists. I spoil him almost as much as I spoil the cat. 
3. My adult kid, who is assertive and brilliant, and socially very aware but anxious. They  can forget/lose/misplace anything just as well as I can, and we bond over that. We are very close, and communicate primarily by text. How many people can state that their mother/child is a comfortable friend? 
4. My son-in-law, who is kind, funny, gentle, dignified, and reserved. He talks in a low mumble, so that if I forget to put my hearing aid in, I have to run get it when he starts talking. He thinks my kid is great, and I honor him for that perceptiveness. Also, he is handsome.
5. Friends. One who is the most competent person I know, and manages to get things done that baffle me. Since she is basically a wild animal like a bear or a wolf (she says this about herself), this is impressive. We send each other photos of our pets several days a week. Another friend who corresponds with me regularly. We have known each other for a long time, and we write each other long, chatty emails. Six other friends who call me with varying degrees of regularity to tell me about what’s going on with them. I listen and offer advice. Two friends I see most weeks who are both very impressive people, and yet I feel utterly relaxed in their presence. I am sad when I don’t get to see them. God, I have so many more friends than I realized. Weird. I’m still quite certain I’m an introvert.
6. Neighbors: My neighbor across the street, who calls me sometimes out of the blue to vent. Wednesday he called to vent about why people he knows put up with Trump. I told him that people like that are basically thirteen-year-olds. This seemed to make sense to him, god help both of us. All I know is thirteen-year-olds are the only age I never taught, and never wanted to teach. Troy is tall. He used to do jiu-jitsu, and I fenced, so unlike a lot of people we both understand how to enjoy fighting. My next door neighbor, who is twenty five and came over last night and peered in my window to ask me if it was okay that his band is practicing in the basement. I told him I couldn’t hear his band, and if I could hear it I would just play my own loud music to cover it. He is chatty, earnest, and very twenty five, and I’ve had much worse neighbors.
7. All the rest of the people I’m happy to see, because being glad to see people is fucking gold. Also, a few kind, competent, amiable people on the federated social network Mastodon. I admire them. They all have knowledge and interests, they share them, and otherwise they leave me the hell alone and are not bothered when I appear in their lives talking about something completely irrelevant. I love people like that. Acceptance is a rare quality.