Monday, February 9, 2009

Introverts are just misunderstood

Ben is a fairly active kid. He loves it when we swing him around, lift him up high and hold him upside down. I know in a few years he's going to keep us very busy, running after him. And I have a sneaking suspicion that one day I'm going to find an 8 year old on our roof, attempting to jump into the nearest tree.

He's also very easy-going. He doesn't mind loud noises, dirty diapers don't bother him, he tolerates it when I fish stuff out of his nose and he's hard to startle. So it's always interesting when we find something that DOES bother him.

Last weekend we attended a party for my stay-at-home moms group. We all got to meet the husbands and it was great fun. However, an hour into the party there were about 20 people in a fairly small space. Apparently it was a bit too much for Ben to take, because his face crumpled up into the saddest look ever and he started crying. Not the "I'm-bored-come-play-with-me" cry or the "I-want-something-NOW" cry, but a cry so sad that it hurts my heart to think about. And it was accompanied by real tears, which are still pretty rare.

The same thing happened at my brother Nick's wedding reception a few weeks ago. Ben was fine for a while, but when we brought him out onto the dance floor all the action overloaded him. He got the same sad look on his face and started bawling.

It's interesting to me that a kid that so loves to be held and never seems to want to play alone has a problem with crowds. I thought for sure we had an extrovert on our hands, but maybe I'll gain one for my team!

1 comment:

  1. It does look like you might not be outnumbered after all. It's one thing to want to be held or to play with those you love. It's another thing to have to be with a crowd of strangers!

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