“I’m an Introverted Stay-at-Home Dad, Here’s How I’m Coping When Lockdown Threatens Burn-Out”

Let me tell you about the time I flew to D.C. from Boston, spent hours in traffic starting at BWI because nobody in Maryland can handle driving in an inch of snow, arrived at the hotel ready to party, hit up a Star Wars-themed pop-up bar and took a picture with Darth Vader, then went to another bar and promptly fell asleep upright with a beer in my hand. Not passed out: Fell asleep. I have witnesses. My wife and our friend were there.

I’m a gregarious introvert. I like to go out and see people and have a good time. But going out and seeing people and having a good time tends to drain me. This is also true of spending time at home with B. She’s a joy. It’s my introversion that makes stay at home parenting so tiring. (Mostly. Parenting is just tiring on its own, of course.)

I decided I’d get into this in detail, especially touching on COVID-19’s exacerbation of my introversion, over at Parents Magazine.