The Extrovert

My brother is one of the most active people I know. He’s always going and doing and planning. Growing up, he used to marvel at how long I could sit in one place, apparently doing nothing. And I marveled at how many places he went, and with how many people.

I always smile, thinking back on this one conversation I heard many times between my brother and my dad, probably while I was sitting in a wingback chair near a window, doing nothing. It went something like this:

“What are your plans for today, son?” my dad would ask as my brother was zipping out the door.

“I’m gonna meet up with a bunch of people and go see a movie, and then we might all go to the mall for dinner and then head downtown to get ice cream. And we may play laser tag and then go to Zandi’s house to hang out there.”

With every additional detail my brother shared about his highly social plans my dad looked a little more alarmed.

“What would you want to do all that for?” my dad would ask earnestly. “Now, here’s an idea—how about you pick out a good book and I’ll pick out a good book. Then we can read, and I may take a nap. And later on if we want, we can go for a walk. And maybe build a fire in the fireplace.”

Now it was my brother’s turn to look alarmed.

At this point in the conversation I might interject— “Your plan sounds good to me except for the nap.”

My brother would leave the house as quickly as he could and my dad and I would pick out good books and read. Then he’d take a nap. Later we’d go for a walk and then build a fire in the fireplace. Often my brother would come back hours later to find me in the exact same place he’d left me. 

These days, I live in a house full of introverts like me, except for my oldest daughter. Most days you can find her looking a little put out with our slow-moving, unsocial plans. Sweet girl. And if my brother lived here with us, he would still marvel at how long I can sit in one place. I’m even better at it now than I was back then. Isn’t it wonderful (and if we’re honest, sometimes alarming) how differently God makes us all?

~Amy