
My five year old is a talker. I mean, he talks from the moment he lifts his little head from his Stitch PillowPet in the morning until the last moments of our evening when his eyes are closing and I have tucked him back into bed. He talks stories and questions and what ifs and do you remember whens. Sometimes he talks in pretend languages and sometimes he repeats conversations he has already had. He talks to strangers in grocery stores and characters in cartoons. He talks when no one is listening, he talks while he bathes, he talks through any song or television show or movie someone else wants to hear. Lucas is a talker.
So, when I took him to school with me today, I thought chatting with all of the students would be heaven for him. A five year old on a high school campus garners attention and I thought he would soak it up.
Instead, every time someone said hi to him , he would look at the ground or hide behind my leg. I kept telling him not to be shy and to be friendly, but he still refused. He has a stubborn streak, so I thought it might be his way of trying to get his own way. Finally, as we left campus, I asked him again, "Why are you pretending to be so shy?"
"Mom, I'm not pretending to be shy. I've just had enough of all the 'Hi, hi, hi.' It makes me tired."
I guess just because a little guy has a lot to say, doesn't mean he is an extrovert. Lucas isn't shy, but he sure does know how he feels. And he isn't afraid to share it. And sometimes that makes me fear the years ahead, but today, it just made me smile.