Introvert vs. Extrovert . . . and the winner is . . .

We are for the most part a family of introverts. Travis and I can both fake being extroverts pretty well for our jobs, but deep down we both enjoy small groups, times of solitude, and processing things internally. It did not take us long into Grant's life to realize that he is very much like his mom and dad. He enjoys large groups only in small doses, prefers home to just about anywhere else, enjoys playing with just one or two other people, and needs some time everyday to just relax by himself. So, our family is for the most part a family of introverts . . .

And then there is Sophia. Like Grant, it did not take us long to realize that Sophia is just about one of the most social beings I've ever met. I will always remember the way Sophia worked the waiting room at her six month well baby doctor's appointment. She would choose someone in the waiting room, fix her gaze on him or her, plant a cheesy smile on her face and work the person until he or she talked to her or at the very least returned her smile. Once she was satisfied that she had engaged that individual, she moved on to someone else. Over the past year, Sophia has played this game time and again in church, in the grocery store, in restaurants, in the Jewell cafeteria. Last week at the airport in NYC, within 20 minutes Sophia had befriended a business man, two elderly ladies, a large African American woman, and a family of four. I'm not kidding. With no prompting on my part, Sophia engaged all of these people and had significant interactions with them. (When I told Travis about it, he commented that it was impressive that she could do this given that we were in New York where people aren't supposed to be friendly. I reminded him that we were in a Kansas City bound terminal, so there was probably a good percentage of nice Midwesterners in the bunch!) Sophia has the ability to enter a situation and own it. Once when Sophia was about a year old I asked Travis how he though our little extrovert would survive growing up in a family of introverts. He responded by questioning whether our family of introverts would survive our little extrovert.

In all seriousness, I do admire Sophia's desire to relate to and engage other people. I think in many ways, even as a toddler, she is Christ-like in her genuine interest in other people . . . stranger or friend. On a funny note, however, our introverted Grant and our extroverted Sophia did have a little clash last week. Being an extrovert, Sophia likes to process things verbally. She enjoys talking about what is going on around her to whoever will listen. One afternoon Grant was a little tired and wasn't interested in listening to Sophia's commentary. He took a deep breath, looked straight at Sophia, and said, "Sophia, stop saying everything."