Personalities and Growing Up

"I started writing when I was seven or eight. I was very shy and strange-looking, loved reading above everything else, weighed about forty pounds at the time, and was so tense that I walked around with my shoulders up to my ears, like Richard Nixon. I saw a home movie once of a birthday party I went to in the first grade, with all these cute little boys and girls playing together like puppies, and all of a sudden I scuttled across the screen like Prufrock's crab."~Anne Lamott, In the Introduction of 'Bird by Bird'

I had a chat recently with someone who struggled in school because they wanted to be part of the "crowd." They couldn't afford the cool clothes nor did they live in the presumably fashionable part of town. I had a hard time relating to her story, because truly I never experienced that struggle. Some might say, "Well, duh. You didn't go to public school." But, I did go through the fifth grade and also I went to university. I never experienced that struggle in either setting. I hardly ever noticed that anyone else was there. Even at the early elementary school level, I only wanted to soak up the learning. I read voraciously anything and everything I could get my hands on. I was, like the author, that weird kid that would just scuttle through on the edges looking for a nice comfy spot to read. I'm sure that if anyone even remembers me from school or college, they remember me that way; probably thinking I'd either end up being a serial killer or having an unusually large number of cats. :)

I carried my loner card with me to school. I was there for a purpose; to get everything they could give me. I never joined a group of any kind. The closest I ever came was when someone approached me about joining the National English Honor Society. I didn't date. I really didn't even notice...though I am pretty sure that my university was co-ed. Hmmm...vaguely remember cute redheaded guy in Sociology. :) (Side note: Yes, I have a thing for the redheads. Yes, Aaron does have red hair. God's gift to me).

All of my girls are such "people" people. They love chatting with people and will start up conversations with strangers at the supermarket. I've been thinking of personalities lately and wondering what kind of people my children will be. Anna is so outgoing, yet studious. Abby is sensitive, quiet and graceful. Charlotte, while still young, is already forming into a go with the flow kind of kid. They are all such tender-hearted little people.

I just wonder where they're headed in their lives...who their friends will be and what kind of young women they'll turn into. I know too fast the time will come when they'll all be gone...living in their own homes and Aaron and I will be "empty-nesters" with all kinds of time on our hands. Kind of makes me sad. Hmmm. :( It seems strange to be able to think about an empty house when we have the three little ones underfoot. But, until you're a parent you don't have any idea how fast time does go. Seriously, it feels like they were all just born.