My Child Is Not Like Me

My child might be the most outgoing and personable person I know...most of the time.

Sure, she has her moments, when she's tired or mad about something, when she doesn't really want to talk and be friendly.  But those moments are rare!

Thinking back to when she was sick and in the hospital...only about 3-4 months old, even then she smiled at everyone who came into her room.  She was sick, had tubes attached to her, had to lay in a hospital bed for days...but still she was friendly.  She made people smile.  She made everyone feel welcome in our room.

Now...she's almost two, and this personality has only gotten stronger.  

She does not meet a stranger! 

She doesn't really have a concept of personal space either.  

We go to Story Time at the library on Thursdays.  There are a lot of kids close to her age.  She travels the room, staring the next child in the face, waiting for them to respond to her.  She sits awkwardly close to a child of her choosing...or a grown up sometimes.  She waves until someone waves back at her.  She will crawl over anyone in her way to get to the bubbles.  

And the entire time, she has a smile that takes up her entire face!

In the grocery store it's the same way.  Riding in the shopping cart she waves at everyone, yelling to them. Whoever comes close enough for her to reach she hands them her bug (her blanket with a head).  Sometimes she even reaches for a friendly passer by to get her out of the cart. (Usually that's my cue to start pushing again.)

The funny thing is that people love her.  She never seems to get on anyone's nerves.  They smile and go on and on about how cute she is.  They love her smile, and they love how friendly she is.  

As parents, David and I have found this area to be challenging. 

(First let me say we are always by her side during these times.  We don't let her get into any dangerous or sketchy situations.) 

We are glad that she is friendly and kind to others.  We love that she wants to make new friends.  We love that she's not scared of new people. 

However, at times, we find ourselves apologizing for her.  We don't know how others will take her.  We work to find a balance between encouraging her to be herself, while respecting others and being polite.  

(Come on, that's an easy concept for a two year old to grasp...right?)

The funniest example of all of this happened in September while we were at the beach. 

Eri did not want to sit on the beach and relax.  She did not want to play in the sand for longer than five minutes.  She wanted to run...up the beach....as far as she could go. 

In doing so, she would encounter many new people.

She would make efforts to join in with their fun.  

Her normal approach was to choose someone, get awkwardly close, stare at them...until they responded in some way.  Then, depending on how they responded she would wave and run off, move in to play with their beach toys, try to hold their hand, try to sit in their chair or even try to climb up in their lap.  

Again, everyone loved her.  We kept hearing, "Don't apologize! She's so cute!" 

It seemed like everyone on the beach was watching her.

Her favorite people she met were two women.  They were sitting in beach chairs in the edge of the water, reading history novels.  She tried to climb in one of their laps and asked them to read her their book.  

That was the start.  For the next 30-45 minutes she played with them, pushed their chairs around the sand, ran around carrying their books (she dropped them in the water several times) and talked non-stop.  She screamed when we told her it was time to go.

The next day, they came to find her and the scene played out again.  

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Don't believe me?  See for yourselves.

This brings me to my point.  My child is not like me.  I am not very outgoing.  (I'm sure those who know me are shocked by this statement.) I tend to be pretty reserved...at least until I'm very comfortable.  I enjoy being with people, but after a while I'm ready to sit in my house...by myself.  

Being Eri's mom, I often find myself talking to someone I don't know, sharing our story or narrating for her.  

It's challenging.  

It's good for me.

And if I'm obedient, I know the Lord can use these interactions.