Welcome to Quiet Man Time
My fiancé, A., and I met three years ago, and after three fast months, we quickly moved in together in to a small apartment in Dublin’s city centre.
We moved in to our first apartment together in December 2019 full of excitement but with clear enough eyes that there were going to be some teething problems, no matter how hard we tried to gel our busy schedules, personalities, and bad habits. However, we didn’t realise what was about to happen.
Four months later, in March 2020, the world came to a stand still due to the pandemic and we were all shuttered in our homes trying to remain as safe and healthy as we could.
To say this threw a spanner in the works would be the understatement of the century. We didn’t know of each other’s existence a year previously and now, just like the rest of the world, we were confined to our home.
However, this time proved to be the making of our relationship. We were forced to face our issues head on. Our communication styles had to be adjusted, we discussed at length how we needed to be shown affection, and our needs when it comes to our energies and mental health was a regular topic.
It wasn’t always easy but we promised each other that we would make a conscious effort to find a way of living together that would best suit our personalities and needs.
See, A. is an extrovert and loves being around people, working on her laptop in busy cafes and meeting up with friends. She gains energy in these spaces and regenerates with every social occasion.
On the flip side, I am your typical introvert. I like to spend time in quiet places, sometimes alone, sometimes not. However, most of all, I needed time alone to recharge. I regenerate after time alone, in a space where I can work through my thoughts and come back clearer.
Quiet Man Time was born.
Quiet Man Time became the go to name for when I needed some peace and quiet to recharge and it comes in many forms.
It could be reading, drawing, going for a run, or just sitting in silence. It was a time when I could block out the noise from the outside world and ruminate on my goals, what I wanted to accomplish, my mental health needs, and generally just relax.
But, it was also a time where I could get lost down the rabbit hole of whatever was flashing across my timeline that day. Everything from what was happening around the world during the pandemic, how the world was changing, what the future may hold for us all, and even some of the most trivial events from across the internet.
Quiet Man Time is now taking it’s first steps across your screen. I hope you will join me along this journey.
P.S. I would love to say that I came up with this title but all the credit has to go to A’s creativity. But, also for her care in making me feel that this was time that I should not feel guilty about. That this is time that I need for me to ensure I can function and be the best person, colleague, and partner that I can be.
