Filling Me Up

For an introvert like I am, solitude is what "fills my well," and boosts me up when I feel stressed out.  When I have been in overwhelming life situations what my heart cries out to do is to go lose myself in a bookstore or library or hike for a few hours and hear the thoughts in my head.

It is kind of tough to do that now that I am a mom to four.  There are six people in our home, pure and simple.  As a kid I would escape to the quiet of my own bedroom to rejuvenate.  As we've moved and remodeled and remodeled and moved over the last few years "MY" room at any given time also functions to house other people, or at the least...other life functions like studying, exercise, baby changing, etc.

In order to be my best me, I  need to fit a few of those solitary hours into my week on an ongoing basis. With my personality it is just a need.  For the regular extrovert, I don't think it always makes sense.  When I am facing struggles, often a friend will suggest we spend an hour on the phone or we go out to a movie or something.  They mean well, but social interactions often raise my stress level another notch.  When it comes to my relationships with others I do much better on a side to side basis--accompanying one another in a normal life process such as watching our kids at the playground, working together on a charity project, or my favorite:  Exercising Together.  Some of the happiest and most fulfilling hours of my life in the last 5 years were spend briskly walking with my neighbors.  One of my goals this year is to find a way to duplicate that exercise plus excuse to socialize time into my days again.

I'm considering doing this by way of joining a gym (with childcare) and taking group fitness classes.  Do any of you have ideas of other ways to do this?  Or a way to combine other multiple life helps?